The Electric Eyes of a Hero
by Berrygirl1212
Summary: Kaminari, an outgoing teenager, heads out on a journey with her two closest friends across the Unova region to discover what kind of world lies beyond their tiny home of Nuvema Town. However, each of their goals are put on hold with the arrival of Team Plasma and a mysterious young man named N, who brings out Kaminari's deeply buried emotions. I own none of these characters.
1. Chapter One: A Partnership Forms

Kaminari twirls around in her desk chair, playing with her locks of brown hair and watching the ceiling as it spins above her. Her best friend, Cheren, pretends to read his book about the Elemental Apes, but Kaminari didn't have to look to know that he was peering over the novel at the box sitting on her desk. Both have the same question on their minds: _Of all of Bianca's excuses for being late, I wonder which one she'll use today?_

"Which one do you want to pick?" Cheren asks, not taking his analytic eyes off of the green bow which closes the box tightly. It calls out to him repeatedly, and it takes every fiber of his impatient being to keep his cool composure.

Kaminari continues to spin as she speaks, trying to hide the fact that she, too, is almost bursting with excitement. "I don't know." She responds plainly. "I'm not even sure what kinds of Pokémon are in there." Her cap slips off and she reaches to pick it up, but his next outburst startles her and captures her attention.

"You don't know? How can you live sixteen years, waiting eagerly to get a Pokémon, and not spend any of that time studying about them?" his loud, judgmental tone causes her to quickly scoop up her hat and whirl it at him faster than a Tranquil. The brim bounces off his arm and he yelps at the pain.

"Sorry I can't be a bookworm like you. I'm too busy having a life." She sneers. "Now give me my hat." Kaminari holds out her hand, expecting some rough fabric to be laid there.

"No." he smirks. "It's mine now." He places the cap on his head and bats his eyelashes in an attempt to mimic his friend. "I wonder what Pokémon are in that box?" he says in a high pitched, squeaky voice.

" _You're_ going to wear a pink and white trainer hat on your journey? I don't think you can pull it off quite like I can." Kaminari retorts. "Now give it."

"Whatever." He tosses the accessory in Kaminari's direction. "It's useless to me, anyway. _I'm_ the kind of person that people can look at and know that I am a trainer without frivolous Poké Ball accessories."

"You could really use a hat, Cheren." She settles the hat back neatly atop her hair. "It might finally bring down that cowlick of yours and keep you from catching on fire every time you travel outdoors." She scoffs.

He shakes his head. "So immature. So uneducated. So disappointing. How could someone as respectable as Professor Juniper trust you to care for another creature?" He raises his book back to his face once more. "Oh, it's because you never went to her lab to learn about your future partners or meet her. How inconsiderate of you."

Kaminari leaps from her chair and takes Cheren down to the floor with a headbutt to the stomach. He attempts to shove her off, but he's triggered her fury; they both know that it's too late now. "Take it back, Four-eyes!" she shouts, holding his limbs down and digging her nails into his wrists.

"Get off me, you barbaric idiot!" he yells, but she refuses to surrender without an apology. "Nari's mother! Get your daughter off of me!" he cries in the direction of the stairs. When footsteps are heard prancing up the steps, he yells "Help!" but is disappointed to see Bianca pop into the room, finally.

"Come on, you two!" she chirps cheerfully. "Today's not the day to dilly-dally; we're getting Pokémon!" she practically skips over to Kaminari's desk and kicks the still-spinning chair out of the way. The blonde plucks a note from the bow, scans over it, and discards it quickly with a huff.

Kaminari releases Cheren and stands, completely forgetting her conflict with him. "Says the one who probably swam to Kanto this morning just to waste our time." She strides back across the room to stand next to Bianca and stare at the red box with her. Kaminari trembles in excitement just standing so close to her future partner.

"What did the card say?" Cheren asks, brushing off the dust as he makes his way towards the desk.

"Oh, some nonsense about settling our choices politely. It seems like that advice went down the drain before you two even received it." She says, disapprovingly.

Kaminari rips the neatly tied bow from the box and flips the lid off to reveal three, shiny, red-and-white spheres. They glisten in the light of her lamp and reflect in the pupils of her admiring eyes. "Woah."

After a few seconds of the girls staring at their gifts in awe, Cheren breaks the silence of their gawking. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's meet them." He grabs the ball closest to him and presses the button. The sphere opens and releases a beam of white energy, which shoots to the ground and takes the form of a little snake-like creature.

The green thing lets out a short battle cry before realizing he wasn't called out for a fight. It raises its chin and crosses its arms in disappointment. "Vy, Snivy."

Kaminari kneels next to it and lifts the tiny Pokémon in her palms. "This little guy looks cool."

As if she had just disrespected him somehow, the grass-type makes a "hmph" noise and leaps from her hands. He then chooses to slither up the back of Cheren and look down on her smugly from his shoulder, as if he had just traversed a massive mountain.

Cheren smirks and arcs his brow. "Snivy respects me much more- to no one's surprise. I'll be picking this one."

"Shut your trap." She mutters at the arrogant boy and narrows her eyes at his equally-conceited Pokémon.

"Ooooh, my turn!" Bianca cheers. She snatches a Pokéball and jams the button in, releasing an orange piglet next to Cheren. It's not surprising that the look of disapproval from the giant figure frightens the timid little piggy.

The poor Pokémon backs away slowly with her tail down and eyes wide. "T-tep, Tepig…" She backs into the arms of an ecstatic Bianca, who lifts her to eye level. The fire-type shakes in terror for a moment before relaxing and wagging its curly tail.

"Aww, it's so cute!" She squeals, exciting the pig. "She needs a nickname!"

"Call it Bacon." Kaminari laughs at her own suggestion while Bianca gasps at the thought and hugs her first Pokémon to her chest.

"How could you say such a thing, Nari!" she screeches. "Don't worry, little piggy, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Nicknames? Phht, how childish can you get?" he murmurs under his breath. "Nari, don't you want to find out what's in the last Poké Ball, since you clearly don't know?"

"I WILL." She states indignantly as she rises. "And I'm sure this one won't be a suck-up, either..." she adds under her breath. Kaminari gently presses the button to release a blue otter with a scallop in his hand, ready to duel anyone who challenges its strength. the girl can't deny that its battle cry sounds outright adorable. The water-type's eyes sparkle in admiration as he stares up at his new trainer. He drops his scallop.

"Oshaaa…" he gawks. Kaminari laughs and scoops the Oshawott up.

"Hey, lil' guy. You wanna be my first Pokémon?" He tilts his head and nods quickly. "You're going be called… Tsunami." The otter gathers his scallop and holds it out in the air like a noble knight with a sword. "Looks like you've already warmed up to your name." Kaminari smiles gleefully at her first partner.

"Tsunami?" Cheren snickers. "Kind of a powerful name for such a weak Pokémon, isn't it?"

Both Kaminari and Tsunami are disgusted at the disrespectful comment. "Who are you calling weak? You cried out for Mommy just a minute ago, and it wasn't even your own mom!" Tsunami puts his paws on his hips and lets out a "Wott!" in agreement.

"Will you two quit bickering so we can battle?" Bianca says. "Inferpork is ready to fight!" The Tepig grunts her approval of a duel.

Kaminari and Tsunami both crack up at the name. Cheren and Snivy simply roll their eyes at the immature atmosphere of the room. "Inferpork?!" Kaminari shouts. "How is that better than Bacon?!"

Bianca's face turns Tepig-red. "I'm working on it…" Her gaze darts around the room, reflecting her embarrassment. Her partner nudges her in an effort to comfort the girl.

"Nari!" Cheren snaps, "You hurt her feelings. What do you have to say for yourself?" Kaminari wipes her eyes and sits up from rolling on the floor.

"Oshawott…" Tsunami puts his head and tail down, ashamed of his actions.

"No, it's okay. It made me realize how stupid that was." She stares down at her Tepig, who looks worried and concerned about her trainer. "For now on, I'll call you Tepig, okay?"

"Pig, Te-Tepig." She nods slowly and nuzzles her sad trainer once more.

"Well then..." Bianca perks up after merely a moment. "How about that battle?"

"But we're inside," Cheren reminds them, "If you wa-"

"You're on!" Kaminari stands and thrusts her hand out toward her opponent. Cheren shakes his head behind her as she shouts "Tackle!"

At his trainer's request, Tsunami rushes towards an unprepared Tepig, who jumps up on the table with the TV, knocking the device off the stand. "Hey! Get 'er, Tsunami!" The Oshawott follows the pig up the table and chases her to the very end.

"U-um, Tepig, use Tail Whip!" Bianca blurts. Tepig waves her tail like it's a white flag as she hops off the table, narrowly missing the Wii. She scrambles across the rugs and jumps up on the bed before she dives under the sheets in an attempt to hide. However, Tsunami is on her tail, and he squirms under the blanket after her.

A squeal emits from the sheets a second before Tepig tumbles out from under the covers and lands on her back. After a bit of shuffling to find the exit, Tsunami bursts out into the air and lands on Tepig hard. She squeaks and scoots away as Tsunami bounces off of her onto the rug. "Tepig, you can do this! Use Tackle!" Bianca cries passionately as she chews on her fingernails.

"Tsunami! Dodge and counter!" Kaminari commands confidently. Tepig charges at Tsunami like a wild boar, but Tsunami swiftly sidesteps just in time, allowing her to ram into the wall. While Tepig is dizzy, Tsunami jumps and tackles her from behind. The poor pig doesn't get up.

Bianca rushes to comfort her Pokémon. "Aww, sweet Tepig. Are you okay?" She peers over at her friend, who is holding out her hand for the Oshawott to smack. "Wow, you're already stronger than me…"

"Great job, Tsunami!" Kaminari cheers, oblivious to her best friend's sorrow yet again. Her partner blushes at the compliment and pounds at her open palm with his paw.

"Enough celebration. Take a look at what your Oshawott has done." Cheren scolds. Kaminari blinks and looks around at her room. There are footprints everywhere, her TV is broken on her ruffled rug, and pretty much the only thing still in place and intact is her Wii, amazingly. _Mom's not going to be very happy…_

"I knew this would happen." Cheren huffs. Snivy slithers down to stand on his foot and nods in agreement with his trainer.

"Alright, Cheren, now it's our turn. Loser has to clean my room. Will you and-" Kaminari squints down at Snivy "-your _snake_ accept the challenge?"

"Gladly. I've nothing to worry about with speed on my side." He stomps as some sort of signal and Snivy dives off his other foot towards his opponent. Cheren then snaps and points at Tsunami. "Tackle!"

Snivy surges forward and takes Tsunami to the ground before pushing off of him to jump up on the defiled bed and await his next order. Immediately, Kaminari knows that Snivy is too quick for Tsunami to dodge any of his moves, but it doesn't look like he's as strong offensively as her Oshawott. "Okay, Tail Whip, Snivy!" Cheren commands. Snivy turns and waves his tail almost tauntingly.

"Now, Tsunami! Tackle!" Kaminari demands, but her Oshawott is already scrambling up the side of the bed. Tsunami leaps and practically belly-flops on Snivy just as he is turning back to his attacker. Snivy goes down, and Tsunami proceeds to jump on him repeatedly.

"Snivy! Dodge!" Snivy rolls out of the way of the next landing and slithers across the wall to the desk, where he shows Tsunami his forked tongue. "Now Tackle!"

"Stand your ground, Tsunami! Then Tackle!" Snivy shows off by climbing up the wall and across the ceiling to drop down on the Oshawott, who follows his trainer's orders trustingly by remaining still. Snivy smacks down on Tsunami, but now he's close enough to hit. As soon as he plunges off Tsunami and into the sea of blankets, the Oshawott chases after him, and right when Snivy spins to face him, he is tackled by thirteen pounds of pure power. Like Tepig, Snivy doesn't rise again.

Kaminari rushes over to Tsunami and scoops him up in her arms. "You're the best! Great job!"

"Oshaa…" he gushes and spreads his tiny arms for a hug.

"How could I lose? I had the advantage of speed and information on my side?" Cheren analyzes his situation. "Maybe I underestimated my opponent…" he rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Let me heal our Pokémon." He gathers the three starters and feeds them all sorts of medicine Kaminari has never seen before.

"Wow, thanks Che-" Bianca starts.

"Well, we'd best go down and explain that it was all Nari's fault." The boy speeds past the girls in a whirlwind and rushes down the stairs, with Snivy following close behind.

"Wait for me!" Bianca giggles and follows him out of the room with Tepig locked in her protective embrace.

"Hey! Cheren!" Kaminari calls angrily. She looks down at the Oshawott in her arms for a moment, relishing in the fact that she has a Pokémon now. Tsunami just tilts his head in innocent confusion. "Come on, lil' guy. Let's go."


	2. Chapter Two: Farewell, Nuvema

With her Oshawott resting contently on her shoulder, Kaminari prances down the stairs, having an argument already planned out in her mind. Cheren, speaking to her mother, is already on the part where she deliberately had her Pokémon knock her television on the floor so she could blame the whole event on him. "He's lying, Mom!" she blurts and rushes to Cheren's side. The two loudly present their arguments, trying recount their own story fully before the other finishes. Bianca covers her ears and whines behind the two while Kaminari's mother simply grins and takes a sip from her steaming tea mug, not even attempting to distinguish between the two explosive voices in the room. Tsunami and Snivy begin to argue with each other without really knowing the reason why while Tepig cowers behind her trainer, quaking in confused fear.

"Alright," the adult finally declares to the competing teens in that mellow voice of hers. Cheren and Kaminari go silent instantly. "It's fine. I'll clean up the mess. I completely understand why the three of you would want to battle right away. In fact, I'm glad you did!" Bianca and Cheren's jaws drop out of shock while a wide, grateful smile spreads across Kaminari's face. "Now, don't you three have a certain professor to visit?"

Kaminari nearly tackles her mother with an ecstatic hug. "Thanks, Mom!" she cries in delight. "You won't be sorry, I promise!" With that, the girl leaps up and bursts out the door, nearly breaking it. The disgusted Pidove outside take off, flustered about having their peaceful morning meal disrupted by an ignorant teenager. Oblivious to their annoyed squawks, the girl races in the direction that she thinks Professor Juniper's lab is in.

"Nari! Hold on!" Kaminari halts and turns to face Bianca, who is still in the doorway. "Cheren and I have to see our parents before we go, too!" she calls and bounds towards her house, which is about five steps away from Nari's.

Cheren saunters outside and adds snidely "The lab is in the other direction, you know." As he walks off, Snivy flickers his tongue at the girl and her Oshawott from the top of the boy's head. Kaminari groans, sticks her own tongue out at the snake, and follows Bianca into her house with Tsunami waddling after her.

"Absolutely not!" The booming voice of Bianca's father startles Kaminari as soon as she steps in through the doorway. "You have no idea what's out there. There's no possible way I'll let you go. You'll get hurt!"

"But…" Bianca whimpers, trying to hold back her tears, "but I'll have my Pokémon with me…"

"That's exactly why you can't go!" he roars. "You know what happened to-" he sees that Kaminari has entered the room and cuts off the sentence halfway through. "My answer is no, and that's final, young lady!"

Tears streaming down her cheeks, the blonde opens her mouth to speak, but Kaminari stops her with an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about Bianca. She'll have me by her side the whole way!" The brunette plasters on a fake smile and tilts her head innocently. _This guy is such a buzz-kill._

"Are you deaf, child? I just said no!" He turns his back on the girls, disregarding their argument.

With quivering lips, Bianca blurts "Oh yeah? W-well, I don't need your permission!" She then storms out of the house, with Tepig and Kaminari chasing after her. Once outside, too far for her parents to hear, Bianca bursts into tears, wailing her aching heart out. Tepig stares up at her trainer with twinkling eyes and paws at her leg as Kaminari provides her closest friend with a warm hug.

"Hey, you know what?" she croons as she strokes Bianca's soft hair, "You're right. You are your own person and you don't need him to tell you what you can and can't do anymore, right?"

"Yeah," Bianca sobs and wipes her eyes. "I-I'm okay. Let's just go after Cheren."

After about half of an agonizing hour roaming around their tiny town, the girls finally discover Juniper's lab not far from where they started. Cheren is standing in front of the door, impatiently tapping his foot and flicking his thimb. "Where have you been? I've been waiting here for ages!"

"We got lost..." Kaminari mutters, hiding her slight shame at letting Cheren get yet another thing to hold against her for eternity.

"Maybe if you actually came here once in a while, you wouldn't hold the rest of us back," he snorts. The boy then glances over at Bianca, whose head is hanging low. "What happened?" he asks, with a suddenly caring tone.

Kaminari is ready to explode with all the insulting words she could describe Bianca's father with, but the despairing girl speaks first. "Nothing happened. C'mon, let's go meet the Professor!" she chirps in a tone of false happiness. Cheren's eyes narrow suspiciously at Kaminari, but he says nothing as he opens the door and allows the girls to pass.

Inside, a woman in a lab coat is typing with quick fingers on her computer. A fluffy, silver rodent next to her notices their guests and tugs on her trainer's coat. Professor Juniper turns to them with a welcoming smile. "Ah, you're here! Fantastic! My name is-"

"Professor Juniper? I know who you are." Cheren rolls his eyes. "Can I please just receive my Pokédex and get started?"

For a brief moment, the professor has an agitated, did-you-really-just-interrupt-me expression on her face. "Come now, Cheren. This is a ceremonious day; you shouldn't rush it, no matter how much better than everyone else you _think_ you are." Cheren's eyes grow wide and Kaminari giggles as she continues. "As I was saying, my name is Professor Juniper, and I have dedicated my life to studying the Pokémon of the Unova region. They are fascinating creatures who either live on their own in the wild or with trainers. Unfortunately, I can't do it all on my own. That's where you three come in!"

Professor Juniper scrambles through the cluttered drawer of her desk until she finds three red machines. Cheren's eyes soak in every aspect of their beauty while the girls think nothing of the little devices. "These are your Pokédexes, fresh out of the box. I would like for each of you to do your best to capture every Pokémon and fill up your Pokédex. Will you do it for me?"

There's no question about her request in any of their minds. "Of course, Professor!" Bianca declares gleefully. "We'd love to!" The four Pokémon in the room cheer as well.

"Excellent!" As she passes out the handheld devices, Professor Juniper checks on each of the Pokémon.

Snivy possessively wraps his leafy tail around Cheren's ankle and nods righteously. "Vy!"

Tsunami takes out his tiny scallop and slashes it around in the air, as if to protect his trainer from some invisible, oncoming threat. "Osha!"

Tepig sleeps contently on Bianca's foot.

"Well now, you three have already battled, haven't you? You already have deep bonds with your new partners!" Professor Juniper is practically overflowing with joy. "Terrific! I can see you're eager to get started. Meet me on Route One." With that, the professor puts her Minccino in its Poké Ball and hurries out of the lab.

The three friends stare at each other, wordlessly. They all know where Route One is. For years, they've stared longingly down that road, wishing to know what lied beyond their hometown. The moment of their freedom has finally arrived.

"Last one there is a rotten Exeggute!" Kaminari screams. She grabs the surprised Oshawott by the paw and races out the door, only to bump into her mother two steps outside. Her friends file out as well and stand next to her.

"Oh my! I knew you were excited, but not _this_ excited!" her mother chuckles, pulling out three chips. "I wanted to give you these before you go. They're town maps." She passes them out to the teenagers, who insert the chips into their Pokédexes. After thanking her, Bianca drags Cheren away toward Route One, leaving only Kaminari and her mother, who begins tearing up.

"Oh, mom." Kaminari blushes, a bit embarrassed at her mother's display of emotion. "I promise I'll return as soon as I complete my journey. I'll have little Tsunami by my side the whole way, and you know me. I'll be fine."

"I don't doubt that at all. You're my strong little girl, after all." She takes her daughter gently by the shoulders and looks her up and down. "You just remind me of Akira when he got his first Pokémon. You're all grown up now." She embraces Kaminari for an extended period of time.

Tsunami tilts his head and watches the affectionate moment, starting to understand his trainer. "Oshaa…"

Kaminari's mother smiles at the little otter as she kneels down and scratches his round head. "You'll make sure my child stays safe out there, won't you?" He puts his paw on his heart and nods in response.

"Alright Mom, the next time you see me, I'll be a Pokémon master!" Kaminari returns Tsunami to his Poké Ball and hikes away, waving goodbye to her parent.

It doesn't take long for her to reach Route One, where Bianca is hopping up and down in excitement. "Hey! Kaminari! Cheren and I decided that we're all going to take our first steps out of Nuvema Town together! C'mon, take my hand!" the blonde chirps. She grabs the hands of her two friends, causing the boy to blush. "Alright, Cheren, you begin the countdown."

He grins and accepts the privilege. "Three…"

"Two…" Bianca shakes with anticipation.

"One!" Kaminari drags her unprepared friends forward, and finally they are free from the restraints of their little home.


	3. Chapter Three: The Speech of Liberation

After giving a lesson to the three teenagers about catching new Pokémon, Professor Juniper gives each trainer a few Poké Balls and walks on ahead to Accumula Town. Kaminari shoves the spheres into her bag and immediately runs into the tall grass, ready for her first wild encounter. "Wait!" Bianca shouts. "I just came up with a fun game!"

Cheren carefully places the polished Poké Balls into his bag and groans at Bianca's suggestion. "Is this really a time for games? Professor Juniper is waiting for us up ahead. I think the two of you have kept enough people waiting already."

Kaminari, still dancing around in the grass with the autumn leaves, takes a handful of the dead plants and thrusts them towards Cheren as he saunters past. "Don't be such a downer, Four-eyes. Can't you just take a moment and soak all of this in?" A bunch of little rats dive out of her way as she rushes through the grass, smelling the pinecones and kicking up the leaves on the ground.

Cheren indignantly plucks a leaf from his hair and tosses it aside without a second thought. "Should I apologize for being more considerate of others than you?" he mutters and continues walking.

"You'll like this game, too, Cheren," Bianca states. "We just see who captures the most Pokémon by the end of this route. It's like a competition!"

"By definition, that _is_ a competition. However, I suppose I'll take part in it." Cheren grips Snivy's Poké Ball in his palm. "After all, there's no reason not to prove my superiority to my rivals."

"Oh really?" Kaminari raises a full Poké Ball in the air, showing it off to a stunned Cheren. "Well, you'd better get to it, Professor's Pet, or you'll lose to someone who's only been to Juniper's lab once in sixteen years."

Frustrated and shocked, the boy storms off into another patch of grass, muttering something about being the Champion of Unova one day.

"Wow!" Bianca exclaims in awe. "Did you really catch a Pokémon that fast?"

Kaminari smirks and tosses the ball up and down casually. "Nah, this is Tsunami's ball." She marches off through the grass, already feeling victorious over her rival when something bites her on the toe. "Ow!" she shrieks and lifts her foot up to see one of the little rats from before glaring up at her with its striped, bulging eyes. "Gross…" The girl pulls out her Pokédex and scans the little brown creature. "Patrat, huh? Well, I guess I can't complete this thing without you, little guy. Alright Tsunami, it's time to shine!"

The teen whirls out the Poké Ball and out pops her Oshawott, whose battle cry doesn't faze the crazy rodent at all. "Use Tackle!" Tsunami, with a fierce look in his big eyes, leaps up and hits the Patrat with the full force of his tiny body. The two skid in the dirt, but Patrat is the first to rise. He uses Leer on the Oshawott, who backs up nervously.

"Oshawooott…"

"Is that all you've got?" Kaminari taunts. "Go for another Tackle, Tsunami!" Shaking the fear out of his head, the otter tackles the rat once more and rolls back onto his feet quickly.

"Pa-Patrat!" the rodent cries and springs forward, tackling Tsunami back. The Oshawott is a bit dazed by the hit, but still gets up after the Patrat jumps off of him. His trainer flings a Pokéball at the Patrat, and his form becomes white as he is sucked into the sphere. The ball shakes once, then a second time, then pops open. "Rat-rat!"

"What?" Kaminari asks, stunned. The Patrat leers again, and Tsunami shivers, nervous. "Not this time, you little rat!" She tosses another ball and watches it intensely as it shakes once, then twice, and finally three times. Tsunami waddles over to the sphere and observes it closely as it seals itself shut and quits shaking. "Yes!" Kaminari cheers as she scoops up the ball and tucks it into her bag. She picks up her proud Oshawott and holds him at eye level. "I'm sorry that didn't go as planned. Were you scared?" He smiles at his trainer and assures her by shaking his head side-to-side. "I knew you wouldn't be, my brave little buddy."

"Shaaa…" he gushes cutely. Kaminari sets him down and places him back in his Poké Ball before continuing down the path. No matter how long she runs around in the grass, she finds nothing but Patrat. As Tsunami becomes weaker and weaker from knocking out all those Pokémon and the sun sinks closer and closer to the horizon, Kaminari decides to leave Route One.

Cheren and Bianca wait at the very end of the route, the blonde playing with her energetic Tepig and the boy stroking Snivy's head, praising him with his impressive vocabulary. "It's about time," he huffs. "Alright, let's get this over with. We all know you lost, Nari, so you go first."

"Prepare to eat your heart out, Four-eyes," she retorts with a righteous grin. She presses the button on her second Poké Ball and the beam of white light that emerges takes the form of a Patrat on the ground. The rodent looks up at his trainer for the first time and hisses at her. She ignores him as she proudly proclaims her victory. "I caught a Patrat!"

Cheren bursts into a fit of giggling and snorting when he sees the creature. "It's, um… adorable…" Bianca lies unsuccessfully.

"I bet you didn't catch anything better!" Kaminari shouts, kneeling down to pet her Patrat. He chomps her finger right away.

"Actually," Cheren regains his composure and digs a Poké Ball out of his pocket. Inside the sphere is a purple cat, who judges the girls with an arrogant expression. "I caught a _Purrloin_." The cat spots the Patrat and begins chasing the poor creature around in a circle.

Kaminari crosses her arms jealously. "Stupid cat," she murmurs, eyeing the feline.

"Come on, Nari. That's not the attitude you should have if you're going to complete the Pokédex!" Bianca pulls another ball out of her purse and presses the button. "Check out what I got. It's a Lillipup! Isn't she just the cuuuutest thing?" The tiny terrier yaps at her Tepig, who then starts bounding around with the little dog.

"Well, the winner is whoever caught the _most_ Pokémon, so technically we all win," Kaminari states as she withdraws her Patrat.

"Mhm," Cheren sneers, "we'll see if that matters in a battle."

"We'll see if that big head matters when I bash your brains in," the brunette replies, cracking her knuckles.

"Brainless brute."

"Gutless geek."

"That's enough, you two," Bianca says softly. "Kaminari, come with me to the Pokémon Center. That's where Professor Juniper said she would be."

As the two girls race off towards the giant red building, Cheren yells, "Try not to get lost!"

Although she would never admit it to him, Kaminari could have gotten lost in her own wonder while in Accumula Town. All Nuvema Town has is the lab, a couple of stores, and a row of houses. This new place, though, has ten times that and a lovely park right in the center of it. It has hills and paved streets and a Pokémon Center combined with a Pokémart- things Kaminari had never seen outside of a television screen. The lamps that line the streets shine in her blue eyes as Bianca drags her towards the Center, growing slightly tired of Kaminari's admiration. She couldn't help it, though. She wanted to talk to each of the fifty-or-so people they passed, eager to learn more about this more luxurious lifestyle. Never has she seen such a crowded place before.

When at long last the pair reaches the Pokémon Center, Professor Juniper greets them at the blue doors. "Welcome to Accumula!" She grins at the gawking girl. "Please, follow me inside." The doors slide open automatically for the three women, and the professor can't help but giggle as Kaminari gasps behind her in amazement. She leads the two girls straight down the middle of the center to a cheery lady covered in pink. "This is Nurse Joy. She'll heal your Pokémon anytime you like, and she'll do it for free!" The professor motions to the grinning lady behind the counter. "Why don't you try it, Kaminari?"

The brunette turns to the nice lady, overwhelmed and speechless. "Hello there! Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokémon?" the woman says at last. Kaminari places her two Pokéballs on the counter and nods slowly with a gaping mouth. "Alright. I'll just take these for a few moments…" She takes the spheres and plants them carefully on a table with six slots behind her. They spin until they abruptly stop and glow, flickering to the tune of a catchy little jingle. "Your Pokémon have been healed." She hands the spheres back to the teenager. "Have a nice day!"

"Wow! That's really neat!" Bianca closely observes Tsunami's ball, which is shiny and good as new. "Are all Pokémon Centers this advanced?"

Professor Juniper chuckles. "Wait until you reach Castelia City. Let me show you something even more useful." She leads the girls over to a one of the computers at the edge of the counter. "This is the PC. You can use it to check your Pokédex with my PC, review your records with your PC, and most importantly, store Pokémon in Someone's PC. I took the liberty of registering all three of you into the PC, so all you have to do to access it is type in your trainer ID and use the scanner on one of your Poké Balls."

"Who's Someone?" Kaminari asks, "Why should I trust them with my partners?"

"Calm down. Someone is just the person who created the system," the professor assures her. "I'm sure you'll meet her soon. Now, I have one final thing to show you." She guides them back across the center to a blue counter, where two grinning men stand in front of a shelf full of items. "This is the Pokémart. Just talk to these nice gentlemen to purchase healing items, Poké Balls, and more." Professor Juniper turns back to the girls. "Well, it's about time I head back to Nuvema. When you get to Striaton City, find my old friend Fennel for me, will you? And if you ever need anything, just call me on that fancy watch of yours." Bianca glances down at their X-transceiver and a shiver is sent down her spine. She stole it from her father when she snuck out of the house that morning. "I'll see you ladies around. Be sure to enjoy yourselves!" the professor adds as she walks out the door.

Bianca, trying to get her father's disapproval off her mind, searches the shelves behind the clerks for interesting items. Kaminari decisively buys a handful of Poké Balls and ten potions before hiking straight back to the PC and entering her trainer ID from her trainer card. She places Patrat's Pokéball directly in front of the green scanning beam, accessing her PC. "Nobody bites my finger and gets away with it," she mutters as she places his ball in the slot beneath the keyboard. Immediately, a pixelated image of the brown rat pops up in the first box of Someone's PC. "Maybe you'll have an attitude adjustment during your time in there." She can practically hear the rodent squeaking his disapproval, but Kaminari just pushes it out of her mind and marches smugly past Bianca out of the center, feeling fulfilled for getting the last laugh.

When she leaves, she sees a wave of concerned residents moving towards the middle of the town. Curious, Kaminari joins the current of people, pushing her way through the crowd and murmuring "excuse me" along the way. After weaving her way close to the front, the teenager spots a couple of banners with giant P's and shields with lightning bolts on them set up in the park. Between the banners stands a line of people with that same insignia on their knight-like clothing. Nothing holds the crowd back, but still, none of the residents dare to cross the fake border made by the edge of the pavement.

"Hey, Kaminari!" Cheren calls to her from the corner of the audience. "Come over here and take a look at this." The girl swerves her way through the packed-in residents until she reaches her friend, who pushes his glasses up to eye level. "These morons decided whatever they're doing was worth closing the park. It had better be interesting."

The two people in the center of the line fall out of formation momentarily to allow an older man to pass. The tall man strolls forward to face the crowd with his single red eye, his long robe and flowing hair blowing ominously in the wind as he moves. Half of the silent crowd cringes when he brings his cryptic staff down on the concrete, creating a sharp sound that echoes throughout the town. His blood-red eye patch casts a spine-tingling shadow over his face as he greets the audience with a twisted smile. "Hello, people of Accumula Town. My name is Ghetsis, and I am here representing Team Plasma." The man's abnormally raspy voice demands all of the attention of the crowd- not that he didn't already have it. "I am here to speak to you about Pokémon liberation."

The anxious residents begin muttering about his final word, a wave of hushed sound rolling over Ghetsis' audience. "Something's off about this guy..." Kaminari whispers in Cheren's ear, her fingers cautiously curling around Tsunami's Pokéball.

"Perhaps he smokes," Cheren guesses, his observant eyes not daring to move away from the pacing man. "I hear some of these big-city folk like to do that. Absurd, isn't it?"

"I'm sure most of you believe that humans and Pokémon are partners, who view one another as equals and remain together with a connection of love and respect," Ghetsis continues, quieting the crowd simply by opening his mouth. "However, have you ever considered that this belief is not the truth? That it might just be what you tell yourselves to avoid any and all guilt? Perhaps the Pokémon don't see it that way."

"No, it's not that," Kaminari continues her conversation with Cheren when Ghetsis pauses to let the audience consider this. "Have you ever heard anyone question our bonds with Pokémon while he has an entire crew of trainers and a Master Ball hidden discreetly in his robe?"

Her statement shocks Cheren and forces him to take a closer look in the gap in Ghetsis' robe. Indeed, there is a violet sphere dangling on a chain beneath the yellow-and-blue clothing. "Geez, I didn't realize how observant you can be. Hold on… how do you know what a Master Ball is?"

Kaminari's blue eyes follow the slender man wherever he steps. "Akira and I read a story about one when we were little."

Not as stunned by her explanation, the boy turns his attention back to the display in the park. "I didn't know you could read." His comment quickly earns him a smack to the back of his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are slaves to selfish trainers, who are out to fulfill their agenda and their agenda alone. Our supposed 'partners' are subject to torture on a daily basis, forced to fight their own kind for their trainer's satisfaction." Ghetsis quits pacing and stares directly at the audience, daring them to put up their own opinion. "Can anyone say with complete confidence that my words are dishonest?"

"I can!" Kaminari utters in an exasperated tone as she steps forward and releases Tsunami from his Poké Ball. "Pokémon _are_ our partners, and they love being by their trainer's side! I've only had this Oshawott for a day, and we already trust each other more than we trust ourselves. As soon as I opened his ball for the first time, our friendship began, and nothing can possibly break my bond with him!" she cries passionately. Cheren puts his hand on her shoulder and subtly tugs her back, but she immediately rips his palm from her black vest.

"Is that so?" With a gleam in his devious eye, Ghetsis taps his staff on the ground. Tsunami's expression goes from confidant to unsure.

Kaminari points at the old man, fury and payback flooding her troubled heart. "Tsunami! Use Water Gun!"

The nervous Oshawott steadily backs away from the towering figure, quivering. "Shaaa…" He flops back on her foot before leaping onto his feet and cowering behind Kaminari. The quiet crowd stares at the outspoken girl, judging her wordlessly.

"Tsunami?" she asks softly, bewildered by this abrupt change of heart. "What happened to you?" She was sure that her brave little Pokémon would embarrass the green-haired man where he stood, but instead it is her who has been humiliated. Cheren pulls the defeated girl back onto the sidewalk, feeling slightly sorry for his friend.

"As I was saying before that interruption, these creatures are unconsciously viewed as inferiors by the human eyes. Only after they are liberated will they truly be our equals." Ghetsis sends Kaminari a vicious glance. "Residents of Accumula Town, I implore you to reconsider your relationship with your Pokémon and what they truly deserve from you. My comrades and I sincerely appreciate your attention today. Farewell for now."

With those words, the two Team Plasma members at the ends on the line pick up the banners, and altogether the members form a block around their apparent leader. In perfect unison, they all march in step out of the park and towards the checkpoint to the north of the town. "Is what he said true, Dad?" a small boy breaks the silence of the dispersing crowd.

"Erm…" The conflicted father takes the hand of his son. "Let's go home, son. I'm sure Mom has the right answer to that question."

Kaminari watches the questioning residents as they leave the scene, wondering why she failed to show them the true power of a Pokémon's connection to its trainer. She holds Tsunami in her palms, gazing sadly at her partner. "Why didn't you do what I asked?" Tsunami's ears fold down and he lowers his tail in shame. She sighs and sets him gently on her shoulder, disappointed in herself and not knowing why.

"Cheer up, Nari." Cheren comforts her as the Ostawott scrambles up her wavy ponytail onto her head. "That guy's not going to get far on his weird charade. People aren't _that_ ignorant."

"I know, but…" Kaminari narrows her eyes at the ground where Ghetsis stood and clenches her fist. "I just thought that Tsunami would trust me enough to humiliate that jerk!"

"Come on, you two have known each other for a _day_ and you've already done a lot together," Cheren reasons with his friend, "but you can't expect him to do everything you ask right away. He probably thought he would injure-"

"What if I did something to hurt him?" Her nervous eyes dart to Tsunami's Poké Ball. "Is that why he doesn't trust me? Maybe it's because I let Patrat harm him…"

"Why are you upset, my friend?" an unfamiliar voice asks from behind Kaminari. The girl spins to see a boy, around her age, standing about half a foot away. "Uh-huh… Oh I see," the fast-talking teen croons. His focused eyes are trained more on her hat than her face. "Well, it's not your fault entirely. The trainer is always to blame if the Pokémon gets harmed."

Kaminari shoves the green-haired boy away. "Who do you think you're talking to?" she vents her fury, shaking her fist at him violently.

The young man's focused blue eyes scroll down to Kaminari, puzzled by her action. "That's very rude," he says plainly. "You interrupted our conversation."

"Who were you speaking to?" Cheren asks, searching around the empty area for another person.

"Clearly not her," he huffs. "I'm assuming you can't hear him either. How disappointing." The young man nods to Tsunami, who wears an unexpectedly bright expression after talking to him.

"What're you talking about 'hearing him'? Who are you?" Kaminari fumes. "You'd better speak up before I have Tsunami here attack you!"

"Based on your display just now, it doesn't seem like he would do that even if you told your… 'Tsunami' to hurt me," he retorts, causing Kaminari's mouth to curve into an ashamed frown and her eyes to dart away. "I suppose that was a bit rude of me. I apologize," he says after a moment. "My name is N. Unlike you humans, I can converse with Pokémon."

Cheren leans in close to his friend. "I think he's mad. Let's get out of here..." he whispers in her ear.

"I'd expect that from someone who doesn't care enough to listen to his partners," N snaps before shifting his indignant gaze back to the humiliated girl. "I sincerely didn't intend to hurt your emotions." He finally speaks slowly, unsure how to handle this situation. His stare softens into an honest, apologetic gaze as he approaches the girl like she's a wounded creature.

Tsunami, sensing the discomfort of his trainer, takes to action and attacks his new friend with a Water Gun to his face. Water blasts from his mouth, soaking N from the top of his head down to his white shirt. Kaminari's regretful gaze shoots up to the torrent of water above her head and her mortified face turns white. "No, Tsunami!" she shrieks as she yanks him off her head and sets him on the ground. "I'm so sorry!" she blurts, not knowing what else to say. "I-I don't know where that came from."

N simply smiles and wrings out his long hair. "That's quite interesting." He chuckles calmly. "Your Pokémon is willing to disobey in order to protect you." Tsunami points his paw from his eyes to N's, as if to warn that he's watching him. N observes this closely, listening carefully to everything the Oshawott says. "Battle me," he asserts, intrigued by the Pokémon's words.

"Um… okay…" Kaminari answers hesitantly as N unleashes a Purrloin from his Poké Ball. The cat licks his paw and meows sassily at the Oshawott. "Tsunami, go for… Tackle?" she commands quietly, her mind clouded from the events of the past few minutes.

"Purrloin, use Growl," N requests, his partner already in his attack stance. The Purrloin emits a high-pitched noise of warning from its throat while Tsunami is midair. The cute growl makes Tsunami take pity of the clever creature, hitting him with less force than normal as he tackles the cat. The two create a ball of fuzz that rolls across the pavement. "Use Scratch!" N shouts. The Purrloin swipes at Tsunami with his paw, scratching his nose.

"…Water Gun!" Kaminari blurts after a moment. Opening his mouth wide, Tsunami unleashes a stream of water on the cat, who tries to block the attack with his paws. Dripping wet, the Purrloin meows loudly, as if whining to his trainer while the water-type rubs his nose. "Use Water Gun again!" the girl commands, her mind clear after seeing her partner being attacked. Seeking revenge for his poor nose, the Oshawott gladly blasts the cat as he paws at his trainer's leg, pleading to be dried. The fur on the Purrloin's back sticks straight up and he makes the most awful noise before flopping on the ground, defeated.

N places the purple Pokémon back in his ball and stares at the sphere with regret. "I'm sorry, my friend. I've failed you." He speaks softly, stroking the Poké Ball and setting it gently in his pocket. He turns his attention back to his opponent, who rejoices with Tsunami.

"Hah, you showed _him_ who's boss, didn't you, buddy?" Kaminari smiles and holds her hand out to the victorious Oshawott, who obliges and high-fives her with a toothy grin. Her humiliation blown away by pride, the teen begins swinging her Pokémon around joyously, both of them cheering proudly.

 _That's strange._ N tilts his head in wonder as he observes the foreign sight. _All she had to do was punish him with a battle to lift her spirits. I'd expect that from a human. But why is he happy as well?_ The young man explores his own mind in search of an explanation for this unjustified display of affection. _He must be putting on a show..._ he concludes, insecure and unsure. _There's no way a creature forced into agonizing battle against his own kind could possibly by happy._

After placing the Oshawott in his Poké Ball, Kaminari strides up to N with new confidence. "That was a great battle," she extends an open palm, "but I think you owe me some money, N." Snapping out of his trance of confusion, N sets a few Pokémon Dollars in her hand and narrows his eyes at her, striking Kaminari with an uncomfortable stare. "Um… I don't really need the money…" she utters, backing away from him.

N doesn't quit staring. He can't. Never has he heard a Pokémon praise its trainer in such a way, nor has he ever met a creature who enjoyed the company of a human so much. On top of that, her eyes have some familiar quality to him that demands all of his attention. While his are solid and defined, hers are glassy and constantly glistening, as if she's trapped in a never-ending dream of a better world than what she exists in. _Those eyes… those electric-blue eyes…_ _Who are you?_

The young man shakes those conflicting thoughts from his mind and looks at her with a sudden coldness as he speaks. "As long as Pokémon are confined to Poké Balls, forced to suffer for the gain of a selfish master, they will never achieve the equality and perfection they deserve.," he maintains in a tone lacking all of the warmth it had before. "I have to change the world- I _will_ change the world- because Pokémon are my friends." With that, N strides past Kaminari and Cheren, excusing himself to be alone with his thoughts in the darkness.

"How weird…" Cheren trails off, unable to describe the events of the past few moments. Kaminari, intrigued by this weird display, watches in silent interest as N disappears into the night.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Hey, readers! This chapter took longer than expected to publish since it's very extensive compared to the others. But the more support this story gets, the faster I'll publish! So please remember to leave a review with constructive criticism and thank you for reading!_


	4. Chapter Four: A City of Rivalry

Lacking the money to stay in a motel in Accumula Town, Kaminari and Tsunami set up a small tent in the park and rest there for the night. Despite her heart pounding with excitement for the journey ahead, she immediately slips into a deep slumber with Tsunami resting comfortably on her stomach.

They are woken abruptly at sunrise by the sound of a police whistle. "Hey!" a voice yells in the distance. "You can't camp in the park!"

In an instant, the girl shoots up, causing her Oshawott to tumble off of her torso. She hurriedly stuffs the cluttered mass of cloth and sticks into her bag before returning a started Tsunami to his Poké Ball and bolting through Accumula Town towards the checkpoint in the west. The lights in the buildings that Kaminari is chased past flick on as grumbling residents rise to find the source of all the commotion. The girl giggles gleefully as the elderly people poke their heads out the windows and inform her of the time. Never has she felt so alive.

Finally, she dives into the checkpoint and laughs at the cop, who cannot leave Accumula Town without permission. He brandishes his baton at her and voices a few inaudible words as Kaminari pivots and strides away from the town.

Inside the checkpoint, plenty of trainers stand around, talking with each other or catching up on the latest news at the electric screen. A man in a blue hat sits with his feet up on the counter in the corner of the room, casually sipping his lemonade and reading a _Castelia Times_ newspaper. Kaminari grinds her teeth when she spots an article about Team Plasma, but says nothing to the lazy guard as she passes into Route Two.

Not far along the road, the teenager's X-transceiver begins ringing. She's delighted when the gentle face of her mother pops up on the small screen. "Hey Mom!" she gasps, still breathing heavily from her sprint. "What's up?"

"Did you just make it to Route Two?" her mother asks, observing the scene on her own watch for signs of the road. "Okay," she says when she sees a dead leaf float past the screen. "Stay where you are. I'll see you in a second."

Just as she promised, Kaminari's mother shows up a moment after she hangs up the call, approaching her amazed daughter from behind. "Hi, Sweetie! I forgot to give you these when you left Nuvema." She exclaims, digging through her purse until she yanks out a pair of black boots- identical to the ones her daughter has on. "These are running shoes. I used to wear these when I was your age. Here, try them on!"

Glancing down at her aching feet, Kaminari grumbles " _Now_ I get running shoes?" she pulls the old boots off of her sore feet and replaces them with the cushy ones, shocked by how comfortable they feel. "Wow…"

"Well, I have to run. You know how Bianca's parents get. Her father's probably banging on our door as we speak!" she chuckles. "Just remember that you're never alone, because you always have little Tsunami by your side. And… you know… you can always come home if you need to."

"I promised you that I wouldn't come back until I've reached my goal." The teen replies stubbornly. "A promise is a promise, no matter who I make it to."

Kaminari's mother sighs at her daughter's pride. "All I'm saying is to take care of yourself out in Unova. I'm sure you know that it's no perfect region. People aren't afraid to hurt others or Pokémon, and you are not an exception."

"Then I'll make it a perfect region!" she declares boldly. "Just watch, Mom. By the time I'm done, nobody will be hurt in Unova ever again!"

The mother smiles warmly and hugs her child. "I suppose there's no harm in dreaming." She whispers. "Go out there and get what you want. I know you will, if you put your mind to it." She releases the girl and wipes her eyes. "I'd better hurry. Don't forget to call me on your X-transceiver!"

With that the adult hurries away, not wanting her daughter to see her tears of both joy and sadness.

After catching a Lillipup and a Purrloin, as well as battling a few trainers, Kaminari emerges at the end of Route Two at noon. Just ahead lies the first city she's ever seen, twice the size of Accumula. Its paved streets are carved with elegant patterns, and their buildings have more luxurious interior designs, with soft carpets and plushy sofas. Striaton City.

Her eyes filled with admiration and wonder, the teenager takes her first step off of Route Two and immediately hears a shrill call from behind her. "Nari! Wait up!" Bianca rushes up to her and bends over with her hands on her knees, breathless. "Geez, you travel so fast…"

"You think _I_ go quick? Cheren's already up ahead, probably battling the Gym Leader." Kaminari groans at the thought of getting so far behind her rival. "What do you need?"

Bianca perks right up. "Battle me? Pleeease?" she whines. "My Pokémon and I have become so much stronger!"

Kaminari isn't nearly as enthusiastic as her friend, but she still unleashes Tsunami, who cries fiercely. Bianca excitedly releases her Lillipup from its Poké Ball, overjoyed about having another opportunity to redeem herself. "Use Tackle!" she cheers.

"Tsunami, Tackle him back!" Kaminari orders confidently. The otter and dog collide midair, though ultimately the two go in Lillipup's direction. Although he was still damaged by the attack, the puppy yaps mindlessly at the Oshawott and bounds back to his trainer.

"Good girl!" Bianca praises the dog. "Go for Leer!" With intimidating eyes, the puppy glares at Tsunami, who just rose from the ground.

Kaminari, clenching her fist, commands her partner to attack once more. "You're too strong to let this mutt faze you, Tsunami. Use Water Gun!" With a smirk, the Oshawott unleashes a blast of water that flips the proud Lillipup on her side, knocking her out.

The blonde blanches as she withdraws her fainted Pokémon. "O-okay, this little one's up next…" she stutters, tossing out Tepig's Poké Ball. She smiles and wags her little tail at the sight of her old friend. "Don't you have other Pokémon, Nari?" she asks, puzzled by her opponent's decision to leave her damaged partner in battle. "Why don't you use them?"

Kaminari glances down at the other two Poké Balls in her hand. She couldn't explain it; they just didn't seem like her partners in the way that Tsunami did from the beginning. "Eh, I don't need 'em."

"A-alright…" Bianca stutters. "Tepig, use Ember!" The pig gains a fighter's demeanor and exhales a series of small flames from her nostrils, sending them Tsunami's way. She hops around gleefully at successfully performing the attack until she realizes that it barely hurt her opponent. "Whaat?" her trainer musters, shocked.

Kaminari smirks and points at the quivering fire-type. "Water Gun!"

With all his might, Tsunami attacks Tepig with a forceful shot of water. "Oshawoooott!"

"Teeeeep!" the poor pig wails before keeling over, defeated.

The brunette scratches her smiling partner behind his ear and lifts him to her shoulder. "Water triumphs over fire, Bianca." She informs her bewildered friend. "It's one of the type advantages."

Her friend shakes her head as she returns the fire-type to her Poké Ball. "Type advantages, critical hits, stats, status conditions… this is a lot to handle." Her eyes dart up to her sympathetic friend and she instantly brightens up. "But that was a great battle!" the girl chirps. "You're one tough cookie, Nari! I'm going to keep training so I don't lose anymore. Bye-byeeee!" The teenager hikes back into Route Two, allowing Kaminari to head into Striaton City at last.

After placing Lillipup and Purrloin in the PC and healing Tsunami at the Pokémon Center, Kaminari and her partner take the chance to explore the city. Their noses follow a delicious scent through the city all the way to a large building with giant spoons above the door. _World Renowned Striaton Restaurant_ is carved into the sidewalk right in front of the stone steps. "Shaaa…"Tsunami gawks, his stomach rumbling.

The teenager trots up the steps, but is stopped at the door by an old man in sunglasses. "Hello there, young trainer!" he says. "Are you here for a gym battle? Unfortunately, the Gym Leader is not here at the moment. I'd recommend searching for him at the trainer's school."

"Wait…" Kaminari and Tsunami peek curiously through the window. They see an empty restaurant and a red curtain with the fire symbol on it. "You're telling me this place is also a Pokémon gym?"

"That's right!" the man in the white suit says.

"Well, we just want a bite to eat, so if you could just let us in…" she starts, trying to step around the welcoming man.

"I apologize, but we are closed until the Gym Leader's return."

With a disappointed sigh, Kaminari trudges away, her stomach growling louder than an agitated Purrloin. Her Pokémon and her search for the trainer's school that the man spoke of, but instead their attention is taken by a clearing in the trees to the east of the city. A sign sits on the road that simply reads _The Dreamyard_. "No harm in going to check it out." Kaminari shrugs and saunters into the new, quiet area.

The area seems to be the ruins of an abandoned factory, with a cracked, cement wall and a small tree blocking off most of the place. A couple of trainers wander around, searching for an opponent. Kaminari shrugs and dives in, defeating them both with ease. She comes across a little girl and expects her to jump on the opportunity for a battle. Instead, she approaches the teen and looks up at her with twinkling eyes. "Excuse me, Miss, but Oshawott is your starter Pokémon, right?" she asks.

Tsunami grins and nods at her proudly. "Sha, wott-wott!"

"Then that means you don't do well against grass-types." Kaminari scowls at the remark while the girl takes out a Poké Ball. "Then, you might want to take this Pansear. He's a fire-type, so he beats grass-type Pokémon."

"I know how type advantages work." Kaminari sneers at the oblivious little kid. "So, what do you want to trade for it. I've got a real nice Patrat that-"

"No trade." The girl shakes her head. "I can't take care of him anymore, and you seem like a caring trainer. What do you say?"

Kaminari stares hesitantly at the gleaming sphere before carefully taking it into her hands. "Thanks, kid." She adds as she walks away, scanning the ball with her Pokédex. "Yep, that's a Pansear." She says to herself, glancing over the picture of a fire monkey. She reaches his stats screen. "Oh… you're a timid fellow. Hey, at least you're cautious, right?" She puts the ball and the machine in her bag as she jogs away. "Alright, Tsunami, let's find that trainer's school."

After wandering through Striaton City for what seemed like an eternity, the famished teen and her starving partner finally find a building with desks and bookshelves behind the windows. They rush inside and shout "Hey! Who's the Gym Leader?" Every child looks up from their book to treat the new trainer with a judgmental glance before returning their attention to their reading.

Kaminari spots Cheren at the back of the room, ignoring her while he writes out a strategic formula for victory on the chalkboard. She charges through the neatly placed desks like a bull through a china shop, causing her friend to rolls his eyes and continue acting like he doesn't know her. The girl staggers up beside him and watches him write meaningless numbers on the board. "What're you doing, Four-eyes?" she whispers.

"I'm calculating a formula I can use to win by giving items to my Pokémon." He replies with a snort.

"That's lame." Kaminari spouts. " _I'm_ looking for the Gym Leader. Did you beat him yet?"

Cheren's cheeks turn bright red at her question and he becomes flustered. "No. And he's not here- he left for the gym a while ago. Go annoy someone else."

With a smirk, the girl grabs her friend and rubs her fist in his hair. "Aw, there's no need to get upset." Tsunami laughs and joins his trainer, tackling the indignant Snivy at Cheren's feet and giving him a noogie with his furry paw. Kaminari nods to the formula on the board. "I'll help you test out that little theory of yours with a battle."

The boy brightens up at her comment. "Really? Alright, let's get to it." He and his friend both call their partners back into their Poké Balls. "Okay, go!" Cheren commands, both of them flinging out a ball and unleashing a one of their partners. Snivy pops right back out of the boy's ball while a red monkey is released from Kaminari's ball of choice. "What? No fair!"

The brunette shrugs. "C'mon, there's no way I could know that you would start with Snivy, no matter how predictable it was." She smiles at her Pansear for the first time. "I know you too well, Cheren. Meet Zest, my new fire-type."

Zest looks up at his new trainer with humble eyes. "Seeeear!" he gushes, enjoying the sound of his nickname. His tail nervously swishes from side to side in response to the arrogant glare of the Snivy. "P-Pansear…"

"Don't let 'em get to you, Zest." Kaminari comforts her timid partner. "Use Incinerate!" Zest focuses closely on the intimidating Snivy, causing three small pillars of flame to surround his opponent. "Paaaan!" he screeches.

Snivy cries out in agony, but still stands. "We can still pull this off, Snivy." Cheren maintains. "Just eat your… Are you serious, Nari?" The teenager's agitation grows when he realizes that the oran berry he gave to his partner has been burnt to a crisp. The grass-type throws the fruit like a toddler having a fit, but Zest jumps up and swallows the berry whole.

"Oh yeah, you like roasted berries, right?" Kaminari recalls something the Pokédex said about Pansear. Zest turns back and nods, blushing. "Sweet, I'll keep that in mind."

"Enough!" Cheren shouts. "It's my turn. Snivy, use Vine Whip!" Green vines appear from the creature's back, which he uses to strike his opponent repeatedly. "Sni- vy, vy, vy!" he cries as Zest winces with each whip. The vines retract into Snivy's back, but Zest is not harmed greatly.

"Darn it." Cheren mutters. "I forgot about that."

"Alright, Zest, Incinerate him!" The Pansear raises the three pillars of fire around the other creature, knocking him out. "Nice job!" Kaminari thrusts her palm out for a high-five, but the Pansear flinches, anticipating an attack.

"Let me guess." Cheren says, putting Snivy back in his ball. " _Now_ you're going to send out your Oshawott, right?"

"No. Why would I?" Both Zest and Cheren eye the girl in shock. "He can handle another Pokémon, right buddy?" Zest whines and shakes his head. "Don't be so humble, of course you can!"

"Whatever you say." Cheren responds, sending out his Purrloin. "Use Growl!" he commands immediately. The cat performs a sweet, endearing growl that earns him the pity of Zest. "Loin, Purr-loin."

"Not _this_ again." Kaminari groans. "Zest, go for Incinerate!" Once more, the monkey attacks with fire, though this time it does very little.

Cheren doesn't hesitate for an instant. "Purrloin, attack him with Assist!" Snivy's Poké Ball shakes in the teen's hand and a blue beam of energy shoots from the sphere to the cat. Purrloin leaps in the air and lands on Zest, tackling him. Proud, Cheren's partner trots away from the monkey, who just suffered from a critical hit.

"I thought Purrloin couldn't learn Tackle!" Kaminari pouts, withdrawing her poor partner.

"He can use Giga Impact if he wants with Assist as long as one of my party members knows it." Cheren grins deviously. "What now? Are you going to send out that measly little rat of yours?"

"You wish I was sending out Patrat!" she cries. "Get out here, Tsunami!" Kaminari whirls out the Oshawott's Poké Ball, causing the brave otter to pop out with a vengeful battle cry.

"Who says I was talking about your Patrat?" Cheren smirks at the stunned Oshawott. "Aw, what? You're sad because your Pokémon was knocked out for the first time? Get used to that for now on, Nari." The boy turns his attention to his own partner. "Scratch him."

"Use Tail Whip, Tsunami!" Kaminari musters, glaring at the cat. Purrloin runs up to the otter and scratches him with his claw. Unfazed, Tsunami whirls around and wags his tail around cutely before staring at Purrloin with large, sparkling eyes.

"Hmph." Cheren exclaims. "Never thought I'd see you use a status move. Whatever. Assist!" Another blue beam shoots to Purrloin, allowing him to use Vine Whip on the otter with a grassy tail.

Tsunami grits his teeth and grunts but doesn't fall. Kaminari growls at her rival's luck. "Tackle him. Now!"

Glad to oblige, Tsunami jumps up and belly-flops on the cat, defeating him. He stands victorious over his opponent, staring down at him smugly. "Wott."

"Hah!" Kaminari shoves her finger in Cheren's face. "My measly little rat just pummeled your kitty. How does that feel, Four-eyes?"

"Do you do this when you battle Bianca?" The boy mutters, slapping a few Pokémon Dollar in Kaminari's open palm. "Here, you should try using items with your partners, too. It might help you win against the Gym Leader." He drops three oran berries into her hand.

"Thanks, Cheren." His friend responds genuinely, calming down. "Really, that was a fun battle." With that, she sprints out the door and down the street toward the Pokémon Center.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Hey, readers! I just wanted to say that I'm grateful for all of your support. Also, I have a couple of polls that I would like you all to vote on, however, I'm only able to place one of them on my profile at a time. I'm pretty new to FanFiction, so I'd appreciate it if you guys voted on the polls or informed me on how to make both of them visible to all of the readers. Thank you!_


	5. Chapter Five: The Striaton Gym

With both of her partners healed and in their Poké Balls, Kaminari races toward the Striaton Gym and Restaurant, confident in her ability to win. In front of the door stands yet another man with green hair, quietly awaiting the teenager's arrival with his Pansage. "Are you the challenger Clyde told me about? The one who wants to challenge the gym?" he asks shyly.

"If it means getting a bite to eat, then yeah." She replies. "Are you the Gym Leader I spent all day searching for?" The teen musters, trying to refrain from grabbing him by the throat and strangling him.

"Yes, I am." He responds timidly. "I did not intend to be so elusive today. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, can I get into the restaurant or not?" she asks hastily. "My partners and I are starving, and I'm ready to get my first badge, man."

"I see you're eager. That's a good sign."He says with false confidence. "In that case, which Pokémon is your starter?" Kaminari releases her blue otter, who stares curiously at the man's Pansage. "So you chose the water-type. It's weak against grass-type Pokémon."

The teen gets real close to the uncomfortable man and narrows her eyes at him, causing him to quiver. "What do you mean by that?" She barely avoids calling him Saladface.

"Um, nothing." He says, backing into the door. "I'll see you in the gym." He twists the knob and scurries into the building with his Pansage playfully racing beside him.

Kaminari places Tsunami back in his ball and saunters inside, muttering "I'll show him a thing or two about weaknesses."

Only a single step inside the building, the man in the white suit from before walks up to the girl and shakes her hand firmly. "Hello again, young lady! My name is Clyde the gym guide. To commemorate your visit to the gym, please take this." The man hands her a bottle of fresh water.

"Um… thanks…" she sets the item in her bag.

"Believe me, it does more than you think." He assures her. "Now, the trick to getting through this gym is knowing type advantages. You see that curtain? All you have to do is step on the button with the symbol of the type that beats the type shown on the curtain. Then-poof! - the curtain slides open." Clyde motions to the red curtain. "Go ahead and try it!"

Hesitantly, Kaminari approaches the three buttons in front of the fire-type symbol. "Hah, piece of cake!" she shouts, jumping on the water-type symbol. The curtain slides open, revealing a whole other section of the room. The teenager charges at the waiters and waitresses, prepared to win.

After emerging victorious from average trainer battles, the girl surges past the grass-type curtain and up the steps toward the same green haired man from before. "Welcome to the Striaton City Gym." To Kaminari's amazement, two men that she had not previously seen spin out from behind the green haired man.

"I'm Chili!" The man with wild red hair introduces himself. "I light things up with fire-type Pokémon!"

"Good for you." The brunette mutters impatiently.

"I am a water-type specialist, and my name is Cress." The man with flowing blue hair states. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. "

"My name is Cilan." The green-haired man says softly. "I like grass-type Pokémon. Um… you might be wondering why there're three of us…"

"C'mon, spit it out, bro!" Chili blurts. "We're gonna decide who you battle for the badge based on your starter Pokémon!"

"Indeed." Cress says. "And if Cilan was correct, you selected the water-type Pokémon."

"Yeah." Kaminari glares at the skittish grass-type user. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Aw, man." Chili pouts and stomps his foot. "I was ready to knock you out…"

"You are quite fortunate to not face me." Cress belittles the fuming teen along with his brother.

"I'll take all three of you!" Kaminari screams, nearly crushing Tsunami's Poké Ball in her palm. "Come at me!"

"Um… it's nothing personal…" Cilan stares at his shoes. "It's just that… me and my Pokémon are going to battle you… if that's okay." He glances up at her anxiously. "So, I'm going to… you know… put everything I've got into being your opponent."

"Alright." She smirks. "Show me what you've got."

Cilan gently tosses out his Lillipup's Poké Ball while Kaminari assertively flings Tsunami's ball out into the air. The man is quick to command. "Work Up!" he shouts, suddenly taking on a demanding voice. The dog begins shaking about and jumping around, puzzling the girl.

"Tsunami, use Tackle!" she commands back. Obediently, the otter leaps up and hits Cilan's partner with his entire body before waddling back to his side of the battle.

"Go for Work Up again, Lillipup!" Cilan yells, causing the puppy to hop around once more, ruffling up his fur.

"What's the point of that attack?" Kaminari asks, genuinely confused. "He's not even hurting his opponent."

"You'll see." The man smiles deviously, to the girl's surprise.

"Okay…" Kaminari trails off, baffled by this abrupt change in nature. "Water Gun!" Following his trainer's orders, Tsunami soaks the roused dog.

"Okay, Lillipup, time to shine!" Cilan points to the Oshawott assertively. "Bite him!" The puppy races up to Tsunami and chomps on his paw, inflicting an unexpected amount of pain on the stunned Oshawott.

"Osha!" The otter cries, clutching his agonized paw.

"Woah, hold up." Kaminari says, baffled. "The Lillipup's teeth are smaller than Cheren's muscles- how did that hurt him so much?!" Tsunami gazes back at his trainer with sparkling eyes, trying to hold back his tears and stay strong for her. His white paw has turned cherry red from the attack.

"Work Up raises a Pokémon's attack and special attack stats." Cilan smiles, proud of his strategy. "Now, his moves will be twice as powerful!" Chili cheers and punches his brother on the shoulder while Cress compliments him with advanced vocabulary.

The teenager grunts at her opponent's celebration. "Tsunami, can you hold on for just one more attack?" she whispers to her partner gently. The Oshawott nods and turns back to the dog, who's hopping around in excitement. "You haven't won yet, Cilan!" the girl cries passionately. "Tsunami! Tackle!"

The otter springs toward the unsuspecting Lillipup. "SHAAAA!" He tackles the puppy with all his might, knocking him out. Tsunami then smirks at Cilan- whose jaw is practically on the floor- before trotting back to his cheering trainer.

"Don't praise yourselves prematurely." Cilan says softly, returning Lillipup to his ball. "I've still got one more Pokémon." He releases his grass-type monkey into the court of their battle.

Kaminari thinks back to the last time she left her damaged partner in the field. She has faith in her starter, but she can't bear to see him faint, either. "So do I." The girl declares, to Tsunami's surprise. "You did well, buddy." She croons, returning him to his ball and grabbing the other firmly. "Alright, Zest, let's finish this!"

The Pansear stares humbly at his opponent, nervous about letting his partner down once more. "Sear!" he cries.

"Ah." Cilan exclaims, recognizing his predicament. "I see you've come prepared for our battle. No matter; Pansage has been trained more than your monkey, he can still pull through."

"You have a Pansear, too?" Chili squeals, rushing right up to the fire-type. "Awesome!"

Cress groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Chili, how many times have I told you not to step on our battle-court while one of us is having a gym battle?"

The red-haired brother glances up from scratching the tuft of hair on Zest's head. "What?"

"Vine Whip!" Cilan commands, ignoring his brothers' banter across the room. Pansage's tail grows into a long vine as he runs up to Zest and flips midair. The vine strikes both the Pansear and Gym Leader, causing Chili to hold his cheek gingerly and whine.

"What was that for?" he yells, curiously poking the wound and wincing in pain.

"Fool." Cress shakes his head and grabs his pouting brother by the shoulder. "Come on, let's get a bandage." The two walk off to the kitchen, with Chili complaining about how rude Cilan is.

Zest still stands, relatively unharmed but still skittish about the battle. "Hmm… that did less than I thought…" Cilan thinks aloud.

"Go for Incinerate!" Kaminari points at the grass-type boldly. Following his trainer's example, Zest thrusts his paw towards the other Pokémon, attacking Pansage with three pillars of fire. "Great job, Zest!" the teen cheers, causing her partner to wag his tail giddily.

"Yikes…" Cilan begins sweating. "Lick!" Pansage approaches an uncomfortable Zest and extends his tongue, licking the disgusted monkey. A yellow electrical current flicks around the Pansear.

"You've got some weird attacks, man." Kaminari announces indignantly. "Zest! Use Incinerate again!"

The monkey struggles against the strange electricity, but ultimately finds that he is unable to move. He peers back at the girl, ashamed. "Pan… Pansear…"

"It worked!" Cilan gasps. "Great! Use Work Up!" The grass-type bounces around like the Lillipup before him.

"Great. Not this stuff again." The teen groans. "What've you done to Zest?"

"You have much to learn, trainer." Cilan replies. "Pansear is paralyzed; he is slower now and may be completely unable to move during his turn.

"C'mon, Zest, you've gotta pull through!" Kaminari yells. "Incinerate him!"

The fire-type combats this strange force trying to leave him immobilized, defying it with every fiber of his being. With his focus on the opponent, he raises the three flames around Pansage, who backs away from one flame into another.

"Oh my." Cilan's voice shakes as he plucks a purple potion from the table behind him. He carefully approaches his Pansage and sprays him with the violet mist, replenishing his health. The creature's wounds are almost completely healed, to his opponents' dismay. "Okay, we're good to go… I think."

"Alright, you can get through this." Kaminari says, a bit unsure of herself. "Go for Incinerate!"

Barely able to move his paws, concentrates on the grass-type, causing him to combust in a weaker fire after a few moments.

"Scratch!" Cilan commands, invested completely in this match. Pansage rushes up to Zest and swipes at his belly, inflicting massive damage.

"C'mon, Zest…" Kaminari murmurs. "You know what you have to do. I believe in you."

The poor Pansear uses all of his strength, but cannot overcome paralysis. This doesn't stress out his trainer; she simply continues staring at him, hoping he'll do what she planned. Indeed, he moves his tail around to his mouth. Out of the little tuft of fur pops an oran berry, which he barely manages to catch in his mouth.

"Clever choice." Cilan commends her. "But a bit of health won't save you now. Scratch the Pansear!"

Kaminari's heart pounds intensely as the green monkey races up to her partner and strikes him with a razor-sharp claw, sending him flying back. "Yes!" Cilan cries.

Zest lies on the ground by his trainer's feet, shaking. "Get up." The teen whispers. "I know you can."

The Pansear struggles against his own pain, attempting to push himself to his feet. Both trainers watch him closely, one hoping he stays down while the other prays he will stand. With quivering knees, Zest rises slowly and stares Pansage in the eye. "Yes!" The girl cheers.

"No!" Cilan shrieks.

Kaminari motions to the Pansage, who quakes in fear. "Finish him, Zest!" she cries passionately. "Incinerate!"

"It won't be enough." The man seems to assure himself more than the other trainer.

Seizing control of his own body from the status condition, Zest wails and raises three ferocious flames around Pansage. "Pan-seeear!" The grass-type is defeated with that critical hit, lying on the court, unmoving.

"What a shock." The man immediately loses the confident tone and returns to his shy, natural voice. "I… I don't think my brothers could defeat you, either. Um… great battle… excuse me, but, what's your name?"

"Kaminari." The teen huffs, picking up Zest and patting him on the head. "Shouldn't you have asked _before_ I beat you?"

"Erm, I'm sorry." Cilan turns to the table behind him and pops open a case full of glinting metal. "I'll remember it now, for sure." He timidly approaches the young challenger and holds a shiny badge up for her to see clearly. It's made up of a red, green, and blue diamond. "Gym badges are a symbol of a trainer's strength. You beat me, so you get this to show everyone how strong you are."

"Thanks!" Kaminari snatches the tricolored badges and plants it in the correct spot in her velvet badge case.

Cress and Chili return, with the latter still whining about his pain. Covering the wound on Chili's cheek is a pink bandage with Audino scampering around cutely on it. "Did you emerge victorious?" Cress asks the brunette girl, ignoring the complaints of his embarrassed brother.

"Of course I did." Kaminari matches his proper, flowing tone as she places the case right in his face, expecting him to bask in her glory.

"Well then." He gently pushes her hand away and pulls a silver CD out of his vest pocket. "In that case, we'd like you to take this, as well. It is a Technical Machine that you can use to force compatible Pokémon into learning Work Up."

"Thanks." Kaminari, murmurs half as enthusiastically, snatching the TM for the move that caused her so much trouble.

Chili walks up to the challenger and grudgingly hands her some Pokémon Dollars. "Here's your stupid money."

"Thanks?" The teen presses the button on her other Poké Ball and the white beam that emerges takes the form of Tsunami, who wails jealously at the nervous Pansear in Kaminari's arms despite being very weak from his battle. "Now, how about you guys fix us some dinner already?" The girl yells impatiently.


	6. Chapter Six: The Dreamyard

Tsunami rubs his stuffed stomach contently, lying next to a few crumbs on the shiny white plate on which he feasted. "Shaaaa…" he sighs.

"Ditto, buddy." Kaminari burps, disgusting nearby customers. "That was delicious! Mom never made smoked Basculin at home." She searches the room for her waiter, but can't find him. "Cilan!" she shouts, disturbing the relaxing mood set by the fancy jazz band in the back of the restaurant. "Your generous customer is ready to get outta here!"

Zest, full of exotic berries that were roasted to perfection, licks some sauce off of Tsunami's cheek and accidentally paralyzes him. The furious otter attempts to stand and chase the quivering monkey, but the most he can manage is a low battle cry and a flop onto his stomach. His limbs flail around as he wails vengefully, promising to get back at the apologizing fire-type.

Cilan approaches the loud table in embarrassment, wishing he never allowed the rambunctious group into his high-quality restaurant. "Is there a problem, Miss?"

"Yeah." She groans and rolls her eyes. "You forgot to address me by my full title. C'mon, we went over this."

Cilan sighs and blushes in humiliation. "What would you like, Ms. Superior-of-Mine?"

"That's better." She smirks. "I'm ready to go. Do you want to get paid or not?"

"Yes, ma'am." Cilan pulls out a slip of paper and sets it gently on the table in front of the righteous girl.

Kaminari digs around in her pocket before slapping a wad of cash on the white tablecloth and placing her Pokémon back in their Poké Balls. "By the way," she mentions as she stuffs the spheres in her bag. "You might want to go over my title with your brothers for when I come back." With that, she rushes out the double doors and into the chilly night air.

A woman in a lab coat and glasses spots her immediately and races up to the teen. "Greetings. Are you Kaminari? My name's Fennel, I'm a friend of Professor Juniper."

"Oh yeah. She told me to look for you here." She holds out her hand to shake, but the long-haired woman simply gives her a questioning glance.

"Right. I have to give you something. Follow me." The woman whirls around and strides briskly down the street.

"Nice to meet you, too." Kaminari grumbles as she trudges along after the quirky woman.

She leads her into a tall apartment, where the residents on the first floor systematically step out of her way as she heads toward the staircase. A small boy sitting in front of the steps shoots up and stands at attention. "Welcome back, Ms. Fennel!" he yells. "I kept your lab safe, like you asked!"

"Very good." Fennel travels right past him without a second glance, prodding up the stairs to the second floor. "Carry on, everyone."

Kaminari carefully prances up the steps after the scientist. _How did mellow Professor Juniper become friends with this weirdo?_ She thinks to herself.

The second floor is empty except for a small table, a bed and a couple of machines. A Pidove lies in the soft bed, and one of the attached devices displays a strange scene on the screen, which is monitored by a little girl scribbling notes on her clipboard.

"Don't mind her. That's my sister, Amanita." The woman nods to the girl in the corner and smiles proudly. "She developed Unova's PC system. Of course, she couldn't possibly have done it without me." Fennel sits in the single seat by the table, leaving her guest to stand uncomfortably by the stairs. "As I said, my name is Fennel, and I'm a scientist who researches trainers."

"You're creepier than I thought." Kaminari mutters under her breath, eager to move on to Route Three before Cheren can get his first badge.

"See, there's this Pokémon called Munna that produces an interesting fluid known as Dream Mist." Fennel continues. "I need that so I can gather trainer files through the PC. That's where you come in. Munna live in the portion of the Dreamyard that is blocked by a tree, so I'll give you this Hidden Machine to remove it."

Fennel hands her a silver disk similar to the one given to Kaminari by Cress, only this one has a black outer lining. "That device allows you to teach compatible partners the move Cut, which can be used to decimate small trees." Fennel turns her attention to the computer on the table and begins typing confusing codes with the keyboard. "Be careful using Hidden Machines. Those moves aren't easily forgotten."

"What's that mean?" Kaminari asks while she scans over Zest's move-set on her Pokédex.

The scientist groans at the stupidity of her rash guest. "Never mind. Just go collect the mist and I will reward you."

"Oooooh!" Kaminari's eyes sparkle at the thought of yet another gift tonight. "What is it? A super potion? An Ultra Ball? A _Master_ Ball?"

Fennel huffs in disappointment at her greedy guest. "You'll see, just go retrieve the mist." As the teen eagerly plods down the steps, the scientist can't help but wonder why her old friend thought it was a good idea to give that girl a Pokémon.

After a quick stop to the Pokémon Center, Kaminari races back to the Dreamyard and abruptly halts in front of the small tree. She whips out the disk given to her by Fennel and releases Zest onto the grass. "Okay buddy, step onto that disk for me, please." The girl utters, trying to keep her patience after finding out she might possibly get a Master Ball for doing this.

"Pan!" Zest obediently tip-toes over to the shiny disk and stands completely still in the center. To his fright, the disk spins and glows, causing him to emit light as well. After merely a moment, everything stops and the dizzy monkey stumbles off of the round object.

"You okay, Zest?" Kaminari kneels and gently pets his head.

"Seeeeear…" he groans, seeing three blurry images of his trainer in front of him.

"Well, let's see if we got what we needed from that." The teen sets the fire-type on his feet and points at the tiny tree. "Cut!"

With glinting claws, Zest dives at the thin trunk and swipes fiercely, leaving only a small stump standing. "Good boy! Let's go!"

"Waaaaaaait!" Bianca jogs up to the pair and shrieks at the adorable yet terrified Pansear beside her friend. "You got a _red_ monkey? Soooo cuuuuuuute!"

"What're you doing here, Bianca?" Kaminari asks impatiently.

"Oh, sorry." She blushes. "You know how easily I get sidetracked. Anyway, are you looking for Munna, too?"

"Yeah, actually." The brunette becomes suspicious, wondering if her closest friend is after her prize. "Why?"

"I just think it's cool how that whole dream-thing they do works. Plus, I heard that they're _pink_ with _purple flowers_ on them. You can't get more adorable than that!"

Kaminari rolls her eyes, wondering why she wasn't expecting that answer. Bianca was never the conniving, ambitious type, after all. "Why don't we go look for one together?"

"I'd love to!" the blonde chirps before grapping her friend's hand and rushing into the main part of the Dreamyard. In the middle of the inner courtyard, they find a floating pink creature searching around the area nervously. "It's a Munna!" Bianca screams to the dismay of Kaminari, who just wasted effort to conceal herself in a bush and avoid capturing the wild Pokémon's attention. Startled, the Munna hurries away and bumps into a couple of people in Team Plasma uniforms.

"We have you now!" They chase the poor creature back to her initial position in the center of the ruins. They surround and grab her, leaving the Pokémon defenseless. "Alright, stupid Munna, make that stinking mist already!" The man backs up a bit and swings his leg around, striking the creature with his iron-toed boot. Munna cries out in pain and rolls onto the ground.

"Hey… cut it out!" Bianca cries meekly, barely loud enough to get their attention. "You're hurting her. Can't you see how cruel you're being?"

"Our priority is the Dream Mist, and we have orders to do whatever it takes to get our hands on it." The woman remarks snidely. "Hit it again."

As the man kicks the Munna once more, Bianca begins shaking angrily, like a slight tremor warning for an earthquake. "You monsters!" she screams. "Stop it!" To her dismay, they ignore her demand completely. "Why does nobody listen to me?" the girl weeps and turns away from the horrible scene.

Storming ferociously out of her place of hiding, Kaminari chucks Tsunami's metal Poké Ball at the man's head, putting a small dent in his thick skull. Oshawott emerges confused, peering around at his new environment in an attempt to figure out why he was called out of his ball. In response to the furious demeanor of his trainer, the otter stands by her feet, crosses his stubby arms and glares at the grunts. "How does that feel, scumbag?" she roars. "You like getting hit with metal?"

"Ow!" The grunt rubs his pained forehead. "Do you wanna battle me, brat?"

"I'd _love_ to, wimp." Kaminari shoots back without hesitation. "Let's see if you battle as well as you whine."

"Hold on, Nari." Bianca timidly whispers to her friend. "Don't be so rash about this. You don't know what kinds of-"

"You saw what they did to the Munna!" Kaminari shouts. "Are you just going to stand by and let them get away with hurting Pokémon?"

"I sense a double battle ahead." The female grunt looks at her comrade. "Take out your weapon; it's time to fight in the name of our king!"

"What?" Bianca cries. "No! D-Don't hurt Nari!"

"Then join me." Kaminari encourages the blonde with confident eyes. "We can beat these punks together."

"This is dangerous, Nari…" Bianca backs away timidly. "I don't think they battle by the rules like you or Cheren. They said that they would do whatever it takes to get the mist-"

"Then we'll do whatever it takes to stop them." Kaminari attempts to convince the nervous girl. "C'mon, you can trust my judgment."

"Are you fighting or not, little twit?" the aggravated man yells. "We're running on a tight schedule here."

Bianca's eyes flick back and forth from the cruel glare of the Team Plasma grunts to the encouraging gaze of her best friend. Kaminari repeatedly mouths the words _you can do it_ to her wavering friend. "No!" her green eyes attempt to hold back her upset tears. "I'm sorry, I… I can't do this!"

The two grunts burst into cruel laughter. "How am _I_ the wimp?" the man snorts, causing Bianca to sob more.

Enraged by their taunts, Kaminari flings Zest's Poké Ball at the ground. "You said you're too busy to waste time. Let's do this!"

Her opponents whirl out a Patrat and a Purrloin, immediately giving them commands to Tackle and Scratch. Unfazed by their disregard of the eye-contact rule, the teen first points to the cat, who lunges at Tsunami. "Go for Water Gun!" she quickly shifts her focus to the idle monkey at her side. "Zest, Incinerate the Patrat!"

Shocked by the sight of the beaten Munna, both partners follow their trainer's orders and attack their opponents with water and fire. Purrloin barely manages to swipe at Tsunami through his strong torrent while the Patrat is barely able to drag himself away from the pillars of flame and Tackle Zest.

The stunned grunts decisively command their partners to follow the same orders as before, only this time they discreetly pick loose stones up from the ground as their Pokémon approach their opponents. Just as Kaminari's partners are about to attack, they whirl the rocks at Zest and Tsunami, causing them to miss as they just manage to dive out of the way. The Patrat and Purrloin successfully land their attacks and prance back to their trainers.

"You two wanna fight dirty, huh?" The teen's tone is full of rage. "Fine! Tsunami, use Water Gun on Patrat non-stop. Zest, I want you to Incinerate Purrloin until he's down."

Both of her partners glance back at her, reluctant to follow her orders. It's dangerous to use a move longer than intended, after all; it can cause harm to the user that may last long after the battle. "Osha?" Tsunami asks, wondering if he heard his trainer correctly.

"Nari, you know that can be dangerous for them." Bianca cautions her. "Consider what might happen after the battle-"

"Do it!" Kaminari roars, blinded by her fury. "Nobody throws stones at my Pokémon and gets away with it!"

While the fire-type quivers and backs away from his oncoming opponent, Tsunami unleashes an unforgiving blast of water on the Patrat without hesitation. The stream of blue doesn't let up until the little rat is unconscious, at which point the Oshawott faints.

"Go now!" Kaminari screams. Startled by his trainer's outburst, the reluctant monkey attacks the cat as he leaps in the air, burning relentlessly through his wet fur. When he emerges on the other side of the pillars of flame, Purrloin crashes into the tile, defeated.

"You pesky fool." The woman sneers as she returns the cat to its ball. "This changes nothing. Kick it again."

Once more, the man launches his foot at the limp Munna. She wails and into the other grunt. "I thought I told you idiots to knock it off!" Kaminari storms right past her breathless partner, cracking her knuckles like she does when she's about to beat some sense into Cheren.

Suddenly, a towering figure clad in robes with cryptic patterns appears next to the male grunt, who scrambles away frantically. Ghetsis. Everyone stops and stares at the strange sight, with Zest cowering behind a pillar next to Bianca.

"Team Plasma's goal of Pokémon equality is of the utmost importance. They must be liberated from careless trainers, such as the rash teenager who stands before us." Kaminari opens her mouth to retort with foul words, but is stunned when another Ghetsis appears behind the petrified woman. Both versions of him approach the terrified grunts and glare at them with their intimidating red eyes. "However, should this mission fail due to the incompetence of our members…" Both shadowy figures disappear.

A single Ghetsis forms in the back of the courtyard, looking like something from the worst nightmares of the bravest human in existence. The entire area grows darker than before as his raspy voice echoes throughout the abandoned factory. "…punishment shall be severe." He slowly steps toward his subordinates, striking terror in them with each tap of his staff on the tile.

The man rushes towards his partner with shaking knees. "This isn't Ghetsis convincing outsiders to liberate their Pokémon…"

"No." The woman replies, equally scared. "This is Ghetsis about to administer punishment." She immediately drops on her knees and grovels, prompting her partner to follow her example. "Forgive us, Lord Ghetsis! This girl has impeded on our mission. Spare us, your greatness!"

Ghetsis doesn't stop moving towards them, apparently intending to crush them. The two scramble out of the Dreamyard, still pleading for his forgiveness as they flee.

The shadowy figure keeps moving, his eyes staying directly on target. He strides right past the gawking brunette, towards the far side of the courtyard. It isn't until she turns that she remembers her fainted partner, lying helpless on the tile. She springs forward, sprinting past Ghetsis and scooping her starter up in her arms. "You can't hurt him!" she cries, hugging Tsunami to her chest as the towering figure approaches with a twisted look in his eye. As soon as his pointed boot makes contact with her body, his entire form disperses into a dark mist, which makes a sparkling puddle on the ground.

After a few moments, Kaminari relaxes and turns around. "Where'd he go?" she asks groggily, placing the limp Oshawott and timid Pansear in their Poké Balls. Bianca kneels and pokes at the small, swirling pool.

"Don't touch that!" Fennel screams from across the Dreamyard, causing the blonde to shriek and leap backwards. The scientist rushes up and carefully takes a sample of the mist with a narrow tube. "Tell me, what happened to produce this liquid?" she asks as she places the tube in a small, handheld machine.

"There were these two Plasma grunts… and the Munna… and rule breaking… a Ghetsis… _another_ Ghetsis… no Ghetsis…" Bianca attempts to explain the situation using the extent of her vocabulary.

The device in Fennel's hand beeps as two words pop up on the screen, along with a short summery. "I believe I understand. This is the Dream Mist I was searching for, which was used to protect that Munna over there from Team Plasma."

"Used by who?" Bianca tries reading the short analysis on the screen, but Fennel quickly snaps the machine shut and removes the tube.

Another floating creature emerges from the tall grass to greet the Munna- a larger Pokémon with pink mist emerging from a hole in his head. The majestic creature soothes the Munna with calming noises as he uses Heal Pulse on her weak body. She gradually rises and gratefully rubs her head against his, emitting sounds of joy and relief. "Musharna." Fennel exclaims in awe.

"Woah!" Bianca scurries up to the round Pokémon, frightening the smaller of the two. "Thank you for saving us, Musharna! Do you mind if I see your mist-thingy?"

Fennel sighs and sets the device in her huge pocket. "Thank you for your efforts. I'll be heading back to my lab now."

"Hold on." Kaminari narrows her eyes at the woman. "Where's my prize?"

"It's that important to you to receive the information of trainers you pass?" Fennel seems surprised. "Because for now that's all this can do for you."

"Are you serious?" The teen groans and crosses her arm. "You know, I'm pretty sure you promised me a Master Ball. This? This is lame."

"Lame?" Fennel snorts indignantly. "This is a scientific advancement; I assure you it is anything but 'lame.'"

As the two ladies go back and forth about the capabilities of the Dream Mist, the Musharna Bianca is observing latches onto her head like a magnet, knocking her puffy green hat off her head. The girl's expression goes blank as her dream is transmitted through Musharna's high-reaching mist. The image depicted is a wall during a heavily clouded day, with the soft pitter-patter of raindrops echoing into the dark sky.

Kaminari immediately goes silent and becomes engulfed in her friend's dream. Her muscles tense up and her eyes grow wide, yet she can't turn away from the nightmare. "How interesting." Fennel comments. "You see, Musharna feeds on dreams and uses their power to manipulate the Dream Mist to their will."

"Why do you dream about this?" Kaminari whispers, drawn into the dark fantasy before her. It all seems so real- the splash of the rain, the smell of wet grass, and the two faint shadows on the long wall. Kaminari takes a step forward unconsciously. "Don't do it." The words hardly escape her lips, riding on her light, panicked breaths.

The shadow lagging behind halts and whirls right back around. The first flash of lightning defines the dark figures travelling across the wall and is followed by the quiet rumbling of distant thunder. Kaminari abruptly stops and quivers uncontrollably. "Oh my, is something wrong?" Fennel questions her, legitimately concerned.

"No!" Kaminari yells, focused intently on the scene before her. "Don't go back!"

Fennel grabs her by the shoulders. "Calm down, it's simply a mirage!"

Electricity strikes the earth once more, much closer this time. "Turn back before it's too late!" the teen screams, her horrified heart pounding in her chest. "It's not worth it!"

"What's the matter wi-"

Blinding lightning strikes once more, leaving only one silhouette standing. Kaminari spins on her heels and dashes away as thunder shakes the earth, shattering her sanity as it echoes through her mind. Fennel calls after her, but she doesn't stop sprinting. Her mind only has one thought; to flee from the harm.

The teen rushes right through Striaton City, where all of the frantic residents scatter throughout the streets in response to the booming sound. She shoves aside all who stand in her way, trying to escape the terror behind her. The horrible noise of the thunder echoes in her mind, but eventually fades to another; that awful shriek from all those years ago.

The sounds are shaken from her mind when she slams into a soft object near the start of Route Three. A familiar voice greets her with indignant words; "That was quite a rude way to say hello."


	7. Chapter Seven: A Stroll

_Author's Note: Hello, readers! Just a reminder that this story is not canon, and is not meant to be so (that becomes pretty evident from this chapter onward). Also, sorry for taking so long to post- this chapter is pretty extensive. School keeps me pretty busy, but I'll continue with this as much as I can on the weekend. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Startled, Kaminari shoves N away and trips back in the opposite direction, causing her Poké Balls to roll out of her bag. She crawls frantically after them, but both manage to get lost in the tall grass despite her efforts. The girl completely forgets that N is standing there, watching her dig through the dead leaves and blades of grass with panicked eyes. "Is everything alright?" he asks.

Kaminari's gaze settles on the green-haired boy and gradually remembers the last time she stared into those focused eyes. "Hey… you're that weird guy I battled back in Accumula- the one with the Purrloin."

N glances away uncomfortably. Realization sets in as Kaminari understands that she just ran into him, shoved him, _and_ called him weird. "Sorry, I'm not thinking straight right now," she admits. "I didn't mean to say that so bluntly."

"I'm used to it by now." The words don't seem to matter that much to N, but they break Kaminari's heart a little. He tilts his head a little and analyzes his situation. "I suppose since I'm _partially_ to blame for this little mishap, I should aid you in your search."

"You don't have to-"

"It seems they have rolled off in this direction." N steps carefully into the grass, afraid to disturb any Pokémon in the area. "So tell me; why were you fleeing to Route Three?"

Kaminari shudders at the reminder of Bianca's torturous dream. The droplets of rain on a window never brought comfort to the girl like they did to others; they were only ever an omen to her, a warning to prepare for the black sea of charged clouds racing her way. Nothing could seize her mind like the sound of rolling thunder. Nothing made her hide under her covers and scream like the flash of lightning outside. Nothing dragged her into a fit of madness and misery like the memory of that night from so long ago. Part of her feels ashamed for allowing her fear to consume her in front of so many people, but it wasn't like she dove into the pit herself. It was _Bianca's_ fault for having that dream… or so she continued to tell herself.

"It's really none of your business."She attempts to keep her voice from wavering as she speaks to him, but if she fails, he doesn't seem to notice.

"How is this in any way not my business?" N replies, bending over to pat a wild Lillipup on its scruffy head. "I believe I deserve an answer after you so rudely bumped into me. I won't even bother mentioning the fact I am aiding you in your search for your Poké Balls."

"I said sorry," she mutters "and I didn't force you to help me, so that argument doesn't work here."

N snatches a red ball off the ground and observes it in his hand. "If I hadn't been here, would you have found this?" He grins and holds the sphere out for Kaminari to see. She peers up at it with relieved eyes, sensing the courageous aura of her Oshawott from within the ball.

"Tsunami!" She dives toward N, ripping the Poké Ball from his palm and hugging it tightly, promising to never let him go again. "Thank you so much!"

"I can't hear his inner voice at all." N sounds concerned now. "Is your partner alright?"

"No," she says, feeling flooded with remorse. "I worked him too hard in our last battle and he fainted."

"Oh my…" Seeing the regret in those electric-blue eyes of hers suddenly makes him feel for her. The emotion is indescribable for him- too respectful to be pity, yet still a form of caring and sorrow. This only ever happened when he looked upon a valiant Pokémon that had been injured by human touch. "We should seek your other partner imme-" N trips and falls flat on his face, causing many disturbed Pokémon to scatter away.

"I think you just found him." Kaminari picks up the Poké Ball sitting next to N's feet and extends an arm to help him to his feet. Not humiliated at all, he accepts her offer and stands up. "Thanks," she mutters quietly "I wouldn't have found them without you."

"I'm not through yet." N pulls out a golden, diamond shaped object

"What's that?" Kaminari asks, concerned about what this stranger might give her Pokémon.

"It's a revive," N states. "Open the Poké Balls and I'll show you how it works."

Just as he says, Kaminari presses the buttons on the shiny spheres, unleashing two white beams of energy, one of which takes the form of her unconscious Oshawott while the other makes the shape of the fearful Pansear. N gently places the object on Tsunami's round belly. After a moment, the solid melts into a glistening liquid, which then seeps into the Pokémon's fluffy fur. Tsunami's eyes soon flick open and he drenches N with a Water Gun instantly.

A huge smile spreads across the brunette's face. "You're okay!"

At the sound of his trainer's voice, the otter turns away from the dripping boy and waddles towards the other teen with open arms and sparkling eyes. "Wott!" he chirps joyously at the sight of Kaminari safe. "Osha-sha!"

The sight of their heartwarming reunion brings a crinkle to N's eye as he wrings his long hair out. The bond between the two creatures bewilders and comforts him at the same time, assuring him that he has not just harmed the Oshawott by returning him to his trainer.

Kaminari glances up from her elated partner and remembers that poor N has been soaked by her Oshawott twice now. She blushes and murmurs, "Sorry about that… again."

"It's not a problem." he reassures her and whistles gently into the cool night air. A Pidove carefully perches on his arm and attentively listens closely to his words. "Would you please use Gust to dry me off, my friend? I would greatly appreciate it."

The Pokémon enthusiastically obliges, flapping her tiny wings with tremendous force until there is not a single drop of water left on N's wrinkled clothes. He grins gratefully and lightly scratches her feathered back. "Pidoooove…" she croons.

The girl tilts her head, puzzled by this display. "How do you do that?"

"How do I do what?"

"How do you get any wild Pokémon to obey you? The first Pokémon I came across in the wild bit my finger even after I caught him."

N gently lifts his arm up into the air and the bird flies off into the nearby trees. "It revolves around your demeanor. If you behave in a gentle, calm, and welcoming manner…" N extends his palm to a nearby Patrat, who cuddles his soft hand. "… then wild Pokémon will treat you the same way. Of course, it also depends on the nature of the other creature." A Purrloin creeps up and pounces on the Patrat, who screeches and flees.

The green-haired boy turns to Kaminari's fire-type. "Now, what's wrong with him?"

"Oh, Zest is fine. Nothing a potion or two won't heal."

"I don't think so…" N listens carefully as the Pansear explains how he feels, waving his tiny paws about and jumping around. "He says he feels powerless, like it's raining really hard on him."

"Hm?" Kaminari digs around in her bag for a portion and sprays the purple mist on her partner. "How about now?"

N wears a concerned expression. "You may want to take him to a Pokémon Center when you reach Nacrene City. Something seems off about him."

"What does that mean?!" Kaminari panics.

"I'm not sure. There's nothing I can-"

"Zest, use Incinerate!" the girl commands. "I don't care what you use it on, just do it!"

Zest, afraid and puzzled, concentrates on the nearest blade of grass, preparing to raise three pillars of flame around it. Many seconds pass and nothing happens. He stares back at his trainer, apologizing for being unable to follow her orders. "Sear…"

"It seems that he has run out of firepower," N points out, genuinely worried. "How did this happen?"

Kaminari shakes her head, mortified of the aftermath of her mistake. "This is my fault. I pushed him way too hard in the last battle, and now he might be affected by it forever." She pounds her fist on the ground, furious at herself for being so rash. "Bianca told me that lengthening the duration of a move might have long-lasting effects on him. Why didn't I listen to her the one time she made sense?"

For some reason, seeing her so distraught disturbs N. "What on earth would compel you to forcibly extend the length of an attack?"

"I was battling a couple of Team Plasma grunts and they started going against the rules, throwing rocks at my Pokémon and stuff." Kaminari struggles to breathe steadily as she retells her story. "In the heat of the moment, I just kinda… I was blinded by fury, okay?"

N's speech becomes as rapid as the brunette's breathing. "Why did you attack members of Team Plasma?"

"They hurt an innocent Munna!" she blurts. "Would you idly stand buy as people harmed a Pokémon?"

Shocked, the boy has no way to defend the grunts now. "No, I wouldn't," he sighs. "Are you sure that…" N abandons the thought when Kaminari grasps Zest in her arms and pleads for his forgiveness. He's never found himself in this situation before, and has no idea of how to comfort her. Thankfully, the surrounding wild Pokémon know how to handle the situation.

N watches in awe as various creatures emerge from their hiding places in the grass, slowly making their way towards the overwrought teen. While Zest nuzzles his trainer and wraps his soft tail around her shoulder, several Patrat, Purrloin, Lillipup, and Pidove gather around, cooing as they console her with cuddling. "Amazing…" he whispers to himself. This girl is not an average human, that's for sure.

"Hey, look at this." Kaminari wipes her eyes and smiles at her small audience. "You were right about that whole behavior thing."

"Ah, well, I've spent a lot of time with Pokémon." N notices the leaves rustling lightly in a nearby bush. "It seems you have another visitor. I sense a firm presence."

This statement makes a spark in the girl's heart, capturing her attention and completely sweeping her guilt aside for raw curiosity. Mildly holding her hand out, Kaminari waits patiently for this "firm presence" to emerge from the shadows and greet her, trying her best not to frighten the creature off.

The boy follows her every movement with his concentrated eyes, feeling a fiercely intense connection between the two strangers. "She does not fear you; she's evaluating you," he informs her quietly. "Don't hide your true self." N's eyes sparkle in anticipation for this magical event. He's certain that he's about to witness something beautiful.

The brunette takes a deep breath and focuses on the twigs of the lush vegetation, exposing her true demeanor of confidence, remaining steady and still as she awaits the Pokémon beyond her view. Like a massive boulder she sits, unmoving, unwilling to submit to any judgments this creature may make about her.

A single black snout pushes the weightless leaves aside, accompanied by a mouth curved in a slight smile. Following it is a black-and-white head, containing a shimmering set of mild, sapphire eyes. A horse.

"You've attracted a Blitzle…"

A spiky white mane trails the dazzling head of the Pokémon on a sturdy-looking neck. More and more of her body becomes visible as she continues to plod out of the bush on gleaming hooves, displaying light stripes stretching across her charcoal coat and a pointed tail. Kaminari can't help but admire the magnificent form of this equine, examining every detail of her strong but small stature. She's perfect in every way.

That's when a charge travels through her body, causing every inch of her white hair to flicker yellow and blue. Kaminari's eyes widen in realization of what she's found; an electric type. Horrified screams cross her lips as she slides away from the puzzled Blitzle and right back into the sea of insanity and panic.

N grabs her by the shoulders in an attempt to steady her, but nothing can cure the girl of this condition now. She knocks him away with wildly swinging arms and leaps to her feet, about to flee in this state of madness. "Wait!" he calls after her. "Don't go!" Like a fox, he chases after her on all fours until she trips on her own laces and falls flat on the dirt road. He grabs her arm and pulls her into a sitting position, staring into her starry eyes with a new concern.

Glancing around, Kaminari shakes her head and rubs her brow. "I'm fine," she gasps, assuring him with humiliation. "Really, I'm fine. Thanks, though."

He grants her a slight grin. "Well, I couldn't let you ram into anyone else."

She laughs uncomfortably, alarming him once more.

"Wait here, I'll retrieve some water from the daycare for you." He stands and strides away hurriedly, leaving Kaminari to clear her head.

She glances back at the patch of grass she and N were in just a moment ago. To her relief, the Blitzle has disappeared back into the greens of the forest. The girl's breathing begins to even out to a steady rate and she finally relaxes, closing her eyes and leaning softly against the white fence on the side of the road. She desperately tries to ignore the fact that she has, indeed, allowed herself to sink under the dark waves of lunacy two times in one hour.

Tsunami and Zest, who had been abandoned in the grass, race worriedly toward their trainer, who grins and reaches for them. Zest leaves the swaying Oshawott in his dust as he hustles up to Kaminari and leaps into her lap, crooning comfortably. Jealously Tsunami scrambles up the side of her leg after him and swats the monkey aside with his tail, making sure to claim all the space on her lap. The teen giggles and places the pouting Pansear on her shoulder, content now that her partners have returned to her.

N jogs back down the road with a cup of water in his hand and thoughts of Kaminari flooding his innocent mind. _What was it that startled her so? Was it the Pokémon? Was it something I had done?_

His thoughts are interrupted by some nickering from the nearby grass. The same Blitzle from before steps onto the road and nudges his leg. "Take me back to her." The words of the tiny creature echo in his head in a kind, mild voice. "I want to be her partner. Please."

"You truly wish to join her?" he asks, questioning her wish. "You would leave this life of freedom and willingly fight for a stranger? Why?"

The Blitzle's eyes glint in admiration. "We may never have met, but that doesn't make us strangers."

"But she could never understand you," he replies. "You witnessed her reaction to your power. How can you expect to ever be at peace with her?"

Her inner voice remains light and gentle as she responds to him; "We've all been hurt before, but the pain can only disappear when we truly accept each other."

N knows deep down that their spirits are compatible, kindred even. The connection he sensed earlier was just as strong as the one between Kaminari and her starter- he was sure of it. If there are barriers of dread keeping the two apart, then he has no right to keep them from being broken. He nods, understanding and accepting the wish of the young creature.

Kaminari is relieved to see N racing around the corner a few minutes later. Just as a precaution, she whispers, "Behave." Tsunami, who eyes N suspiciously, growls and curls back up on her crossed thighs.

N kneels be her side and hands her the cup of water. "Here, take this. Maybe it'll help clear your head up." While she throws her head back and gulps down the cold liquid, N discreetly places an Ultra Ball in her pink bag.

"Ah," she sighs. "That's better."

"So tell me, what was that all about?" N takes a seat next to her against the fence. "At least tell me what it was that frightened you. I deserve to know that much, don't I?"

Kaminari groans. "Yeah, you do."

A long minute of silence passes. "I understand this may be a very sensitive topic for you, but it won't help to hold it all in."

Another quiet moment of consideration comes and goes. "I don't like lightning. Or electricity. Or thunder."

N glances down at her rough hands. One is hidden in her pocket while the other hovers above the otter, hesitating to continue stroking him. Kaminari's expression appears cold and emotionless on the surface, but it's clear that she's masking her extreme discomfort. "That's all."

"There's no reason for this distaste?"

"There is a reason." Her voice wavers this time.

"Well?"

The lack of noise that follows signals that her lips are completely locked, unwilling to share this agonizing secret. N stands and grabs her hand, causing blood to instantly rush to her cheeks. "I'm obviously not getting any further with this conversation. Why don't I at least accompany you to the end of this route?"

"S-Sounds good to me," she musters, standing and returning her partners to their balls. "So, it's my turn for a question, right?"

"If you wish, Kaminari." N smiles compassionately and strides gracefully down the road, her curled fingers resting in his soft palm.

The girl's teeth grind at the sound of her full name being spoken in his smooth, gentle voice. It seemed out of place to her. "Call me Nari. All my friends call me that."

"Alright then, Nari. Ask me any question, and I'll decide whether or not to answer it."

"Fair enough," Kaminari admits, her mind packed with questions about this green-haired, Pokémon-speaking boy who's holding her hand and walking her through Route Three only about a day after they've awkwardly met. "Okay, I've got one," she declares after seconds of pondering and careful consideration. "You said you've spent a lot of time with Pokémon. Care to elaborate?"

"That's strange," N says. "Most people would rather know about my name, or my ability to speak to Pokémon."

"Well, I saw you running like a Purrloin while you were chasing me…" N chuckles a bit at this, not at all embarrassed. "Besides, if I have only have one question, I'd like to ask about _you_ rather than some label your parents gave you." She smirks and nudges him with her shoulder. "And I'll get that stuff out of you at some point, anyway."

"Excellent point." N smiles proudly, finding it pleasantly surprising that someone _does_ in fact care more about him than the things he has no control over. "I was raised by Pokémon."

Kaminari's jaw drops and her eyes dart to his. "Seriously?"

N nods. "Mhm."

"That's incredible! What was it like?"

"Um…" He struggles to come up with the correct words. Could anyone describe their entire childhood in a few words? "I wouldn't say it was any different than how most of you humans were raised. They fed me, taught me, and loved me."

"Why are you here, then?" Kaminari asks, overexcited. "It sounds like you had a pretty nice life in the wild. Why leave?"

"…You've already exceeded your question limit." N states plainly. Kaminari doesn't ask anything else of him, fearing she'll strike a sensitive nerve.

As soon as they round the corner and spot the crystal-clear lake of Route Three, the brunette halts and admires its astounding beauty. "Look at that… Have you ever seen anything so amazing?"

N glances at Kaminari's gleaming eyes, cherishing the way the stars reflect onto the water and then into them for just a moment. "I'll admit, there's nothing like it." He blinks and snaps out of this miniature trance. "Come with me. There's no reason we should have to view this marvel from behind a fence."

The two run down the road until they arrive at a bridge, built barely a foot above the surface of the water. It's as if the lake is comprised purely of glass, presenting a stunning reflection of the rich, evergreen trees and dark sky above. The many cotton-like clouds and bright stars of various cool hues create a new, ethereal scene for just the two of them. While the city was a magnificently thrilling experience for Kaminari, nothing has ever taken her breath away like this sight. No matter what angle she views it from, the phenomenal display renders her speechless from the bridge.

N, who has seen this a million times before, focuses more on the girl's joy. It brings him an indescribable sensation to see her happy, like watching a baby Pokémon being returned to his long-lost mother. Sure, it is rare enough to see a human to be genuinely grateful for the world around them, but it's extra special to see _her_ witness something new.

"I know what will make this even better…" N suggests, standing up. "Let's have a Pokémon battle."

Kaminari jumps up eagerly at the word. "Alright! Let's do this!"

Together, the two trainers fling out their Poké Balls, placing a Pidove and an Oshawott on the wooden bridge. Tsunami's battle cry, no matter how intimidating he intends it to be, sounds as adorable as ever. "Tackle!" Kaminari commands, trying to get the tranquil scene of the lake out of her head.

"Growl at him, my friend!" N cries, studying the girl and her partner carefully.

The otter plunges towards the bird, who makes a high-pitched rumbling noise just before they make contact. Just as the boy intended, the attack doesn't do nearly as much as it normally would, causing Kaminari to groan, aggravated that she has to put up with this ordeal again.

"Quick attack!"

N's Pidove flies up in the air and darts left and right repeatedly with blinding speed. Tsunami, trying in vain to follow the bird with dizzy eyes, is stuck with the full force of the attack and spins around in all the commotion. As he flaps back to his side of the battle, Pidove scoffs at his opponent. "Pi-Pidove!"

Tsunami's cheeks turn bright red with fury. Kaminari isn't too amused, either. "Use Water Gun!"

The otter gladly follows the command of his trainer and opens his mouth wide, preparing to drench the Pidove. "O-sha-woooooott!" Water shoots out at the bird, blasting him out of the sky while his back is turned. He hits the ground, dripping wet and defeated by the critical hit.

"Interesting." N returns Pidove to his ball. "You're prepared for circumstances in which you cannot rely on either physical or special attacks by using both."

"Mixed attackers can be useful." Kaminari waits impatiently for N to throw out his Great Ball. A tiny, humanlike Pokémon with a log appears from the white beam of energy. "What?" She pulls out her Pokédex and analyzes the smirking creature. "Timburr, eh? We can handle it, Tsunami."

Tsunami nods in certain agreement. "Wott."

"Don't underestimate us," N warns her. "My friends and I derive our strength from our ability to communicate, which of course we have no problem with."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaminari becomes flustered. "Go for Tail Whip!"

"Bide, Timburr."

N's Timburr scrunches up his face and flexes all his muscles, preparing for something powerful. Instead, Tsunami whirls around and waves his blue tail around cutely with glistening eyes and an adorable grin. The display warms the heart of the fighting-type, lowering his defense.

"Bide?" Kaminari asks, perplexed. "That move seems pointless."

"It certainly has more purpose than Tail Whip." N retorts.

"Oh yeah?" The brunette's hands are balled into fists. "Tackle! Now!"

Tsunami dives at his opponent, damaging but not moving the steaming creature. "Osha?"

"That was not the best move for you, Nari." N points at the baffled Oshawott. "Timburr! Unleash the energy!"

Following the orders with a menacing look in his eye, Timburr jumps in the air and slams his log on Tsunami's head, inflicting massive damage. "Burr!"

The Oshawott shakes as he struggles to get up, just barely clinging to consciousness. "Hang on, Tsunami." Kaminari reluctantly places her partner back in his ball and calls out her Pansear, whose low cry reminds her that he's not quite at full health. "Alright, we can still pull this off, Zest. Inciner… Fury Swipes!"

Zest's claws shine as he rushes up to his opponent and strikes him with a flurry of relentless slashes, clawing quickly at the Pokémon's body four times before scampering back to his side of the battle. "Pan?"

"You did great, buddy." Kaminari smiles at him, causing him to be overcome with joy. "If only you could still use fire attacks…" she mutters to herself, still ashamed.

"Use Low Kick." N concentrates closely on Kaminari's reactions to the battle, carefully evaluating the meaning of each blink, stammer, and step. So far, he has found no pattern with her. The girl's battle strategy remains as unpredictable as she is.

Timburr smirks as he plants his log in the bridge and swings around on it, kicking Zest's legs out from beneath him. "Bu-burr!" The unprepared monkey falls on his belly but quickly stands, ready to attack once more.

"Lick!" Kaminari crosses her fingers, hoping this goes as planned.

"Pan!" The monkey races up to the steadfast Timburr and licks him on the cheek, causing his eyes to widen. He backs away from the monkey and wipes his saliva off his face in disgust. To his opponents' disappointment, he is not paralyzed.

"Um… What did you hope to accomplish by that?" N asks, his focus officially broken.

"What did _you_ hope to accomplish by asking me that question?" Kaminari snaps, infuriated that her plan failed.

"Never mind, then." N shifts his attention back to the battle. "Low Kick."

Still appalled by his opponent's vulgar action, Timburr kicks at Zest's paws, leaving him sprawled out on the ground. The Pansear won't take one more hit at this point.

Kaminari becomes nervous, pressing her fist against her chin anxiously as her eyes dart back and forth from her partner to N's. Her brows furrow as she tries to escape this tight spot her opponent has planted her in. An Incinerate would probably take out the Timburr, but that's clearly not an option at the moment. A Lick certainly wouldn't knock him out. All she can hope for is that Zest will hit him at least three times with Fury Swipes.

"Okay, Zest, I'm trusting you with this..." The Pansear glances back at his trainer, as if unsure of her decision to have faith in him. "Fury Swipes!"

Zest bolts up to the Timburr and slashes him relentlessly with pointy claws. Kaminari knows just by watching his first strike that he's worn out; he won't reach three hits. Just as she loses all hope and reaches for his Poké Ball, his second swipe knocks Timburr down- a critical hit! "Sear!" Zest hops around joyously as N withdraws his fainted partner.

"Not so fast," N announces "I still have one more Pokémon."

Kaminari's jaw drops. "What?!"

N reveals a tiny blue tadpole with a skittish look on his face. Kaminari pulls out her Pokédex and analyzes the new creature. "Tympole… a water-type… fantastic." The girl clenches her teeth. Neither of her Pokémon are feeling very well, neither can deal any super-effective damage to the Typole, and Zest is especially weak to water attacks. Kaminari is faced with yet another unsolvable situation now.

"What's taking so long?" N asks, trying to hide his deceptive plan.

"Don't rush me," Kaminari snarls "this isn't an easy decision."

"Why?" N can hardly contain himself. "You have a third partner, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I distinctly remember you having another Pokémon." N taps his chin thoughtfully. "In an Ultra Ball, I think."

Kaminari rolls her eyes and empties the contents of her bag. Many unused Poké Balls spill out, as well as her town map, berries, potions, fresh waters, and other healing items. "See?" she sighs. "No Ultra Ba-"

A single black sphere drops from her sack and bounces on the bridge. "Oh."

"My memory never fails me."

"Yeah, well, I'm almost positive this doesn't belong to me." Kaminari narrows her eyes at him.

N lifts his chin indignantly. "Are you accusing me of something?"

The girl sighs and returns Zest to his ball. "Now I gotta clean all this up later..." she groans. "I'll blame you for that much."

"This won't be the first time I help you gather your irresponsibly misplaced items tonight, anyway." N ignores the grinding of Kaminari's teeth and prepares himself for the worst outcome of his deceitful actions. "Will you unleash the creature inside?"

Kaminari closes her eyes. "This better not be some rotten prank."

N hides as much as possible in the collar of his white shirt.

The button on the dark sphere is pressed carefully, releasing the white beam of energy held within. The light zigzags to the ground and quickly takes the form of the beautiful Blitzle.

The howl that escapes Kaminari's mouth can be heard all the way back in Nuvema Town.


	8. Chapter Eight: Newfound Understanding

_Author's Note: Hey, readers! I know that it's been forever since I've posted a chapter, but now that it's summer, I'll probably be writing a lot more often. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

N firmly grasps Kaminari's forearm in his hand before she can flee. "Stop, Nari!" he pleads, "I need your trust if I am to help you."

She turns to him with an expression that somehow looks both pained and furious. "Trust? You expect me to trust you after that… that… joke?!" Kaminari rips her arm from his hold and hisses, "How stupid do you think I am?"

N becomes disheartened. "You are not foolish for rejecting me… you would not be the first to do so…" Kaminari huffs and turns away. "But you must be mindless if you think that this Blitzle intends to harm you! Excuse my bluntness, but you know, _somehow_ you must know that I'm right."

"You don't know me," Kaminari blurts, "you're nothing but a weirdo, a Pokémon wannabe who doesn't know a thing about people. Who are you to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong?"

N responds in a firm tone, his gentle voice as certain and steady as a rock; "I'm your friend, and whether you approve or not, you're my friend, too. That means we help each other, we _trust_ each other."

Shocked, Kaminari can do nothing more than stare into his opaque eyes. She wasn't expecting such a logical answer, nor did she think he cared enough to admit he had a friendship with a human.

N steps aside and points to the Blitzle, who patiently awaits orders from her trainer. "She knows the truth," he states softly, "that you and her are destined to be partners. She told me that your lack of time spent together doesn't make you strangers. I didn't quite understand her definition of 'strangers' at first, but perhaps you understand her." N sighs and gazes back at the girl. "You can't hear her speak like I can, but I think you don't have to. Kindred spirits don't need words to communicate. Your Oshawott has made that clear to me."

"…You think I'm a Pokémon."

N tilts his head and furrows his brow. "What do you mean?"

"You said I'm your 'friend.'" Kaminari crosses her arms. "You only call Pokémon your friends. So am I a Pokémon to you?"

The boy sighs. "Why does it sound as though you find that insulting?"

"I don't know," she says, "I guess you don't mean it that way. But in Human Land, it's rude to call someone a Pokémon."

"Why is that?" N is completely puzzled. "Do you see Pokémon as… lesser beings?" His tone has a hint of agitation in it.

Kaminari nonchalantly throws her arms into the air. "Don't ask me; I don't make the rules."

N looks away, disappointed. "I expected someone like you to have an opinion, at the very least."

Kaminari balls her fists and snarls, "What's that supposed to mean?"

N shakes his head. "Listen, I only mean to help you, Nari. I cannot make you accept my kindness, but I urge you to at least give the Blitzle a chance."

The black-and-white pony trots up to Kaminari and gazes upon her with the same innocent, well-meaning eyes of N. Kaminari refuses to gaze back, her eyes darting to the bridge beneath her feet instead. "Alright," she mutters coldly, "let's get this over with. Blitzle, use Shock Wave."

Without question, the Pokémon spreads her legs and lowers her head as sparks flicker around her small body. Kaminari clenches her jaw and squeezes her eyes shut while the Blitzle scrapes her gleaming hoof against the wooden bridge and snorts, sending a wave of electricity toward the floppy Tympole. The water-type flips in surprise but barely hangs on.

N, carefully observing Kaminari for the intent to escape, commands, "Supersonic, my friend."

The tadpole, whirling his tail around happily, opens his mouth wide and emits a noise at a frequency too high for human ears to detect. The Blitzle, however, stumbles around and violently shakes her head, dazed and horribly confused.

"What are you trying to do, N?" asks Kaminari, lacking the passion she possessed only a few minutes ago. "Tell me, what brilliant plan for proving yourself right includes confusing this thing?"

"I'm simply testing your faith."

She cracks her knuckles. "You're testing my tolerance for your little games. Let me just give you the answer; I have none."

"Oh?" N grins mischievously. "Then how do you plan on getting back at me?"

Kaminari eyes the stumbling Blitzle with suspicion as she grudgingly says, "Shock Wave."

The pony sways and steps around, trying to find her target with wobbly vision. Gradually, she turns to face Kaminari and prepares to attack again. The trainer's eyes widen and her hands quiver as she leans back on her heels. N steps toward her just as the Blitzle whirls around and whinnies, striking the final hit to bring her opponent down.

"Great job not killing me," murmurs Kaminari. "Now return." She presses the button on the heartbroken Pokémon's ball and jams it back into her bag.

"Why do you hold a grudge against her?" asks N as he places a revive on his Tympole's head. "She defeated your opponent with ease."

"I don't expect you to understand." Kaminari kneels and sweeps her lost items back into the pink bag. "You owe me extra money for the trauma, though."

"You deserve extra money because I gave you the partner you needed to win?"

Kaminari makes a _tch_ noise in disgust. "I didn't need her," she responds, "Tsunami would have handled your little frog just fine."

The Tympole's nervous eyes open and he looks up at N, ashamed of his own performance. N gently rubs the sensitive pods on the sides of his head, relaxing the tiny Pokémon. "It's not your fault, my friend," he croons, "I am the one who has lost this battle, not you." He takes the little Pokémon into his soft hands and lowers him into the water below, causing a ripple that disturbs the reflection of the incredible sky. Without another word, N picks up his Poké Ball and pulls the button out, causing the sphere to crumble away into dust.

"What are you doing?" the girl asks in surprise.

"Freeing my friends from their servitude." N heals his Pidove, reassures the bird with sweet words, and releases him, as well.

"I can see that." Kaminari spots a tear welling up in the Pidove's normally blank eye. "Why though? Can't you see you're hurting them?"

N reaches for the third red ball. "It's not hurting them more than I would forcing them to fight my battles. I've done them enough harm by keeping them captive."

As graceful as a Bouffalant, Kaminari dives across the bridge and snatches the sphere before N can get his hands on it, grunting like a Sawk as she lands. "Captive? If they didn't want to be your partners, they would just leave."

N narrows his eyes. "That's your view, but what about those poor creatures being abused by their 'trainers' as we speak? Is it as simple for them as you say?"

Kaminari taps the ball with her finger, creating a hollow noise. "Does this thing sound hard to you? Ask my Patrat, he'll tell you how easy these are to break out of…"

"You know it's not that simple. Think of yourself as a Pokémon-" Kaminari growls at the thought again- "and Nuvema Town as your Poké Ball. Physically, nothing was keeping you from leaving, but still you stayed against your wishes. Now do you understand?"

Kaminari's mouth hangs open for a few moments with nothing to say. "Wh… How do you know that?!"

N raises an eyebrow. "I speak to Pokémon, remember? It appears your Oshawott knows you better than you know."

Kaminari looks away, stumped. "His name is Tsunami," she mutters.

"Did you ask him if he to be called the word for a destructive wave?"

"Do I look like I can ask him something like that?" She points a finger at him. "I can't even ask _you_ a question without being confused."

"My point is that humans can't possibly understand the wishes of Pokémon," N continues, "no matter how well they think they know them."

"Well you know what they're saying," Kaminari retorts, "but clearly you can't even 'understand their wishes' either."

N closes his eyes, picturing the confines of a Poké Ball from within. "These creatures are my friends, not my tools. They cannot see it now, but by freeing them, I'm protecting them. If they stay with me, then they can only be subject to more pain, and eventually we will have to part ways, anyway." His eyes pop open and lock onto Kaminari. "I want to see things nobody can see… the truths of Pokémon trapped within Poké Balls, and how trainers should be. Above all, I need to see a world in which Pokémon reach the perfection they deserve, whether they do so with or without humans. But I cannot see the future quite yet, and until I can, I cannot risk causing my friends to suffer." He sighs and adds, "Besides, this choice is for me to make. Me alone."

Unsure about his reasoning, Kaminari reluctantly places the sphere in N's soft palm and watches silently as he releases his Timburr. Gradually, the three small creatures clear away from the scene, somberly leaving their trainer behind. "I know you mean well," she admits at last, "but in reality, you're being cruel to them. Don't you feel anything watching them go away?"

"I do; I feel like I have done the right thing. It is for their own good." N lies back on the bridge and stares up at the brilliant sky while Kaminari groans at his answer. "Tell me, why were you so eager to leave Nuvema?"

"None of your business," she snaps, "and don't change the subject."

N shrugs. "I can either get it from you or your… Tsunami."

"The only thing you'll be getting out of Tsunami now is a Water Gun."

For minutes, a thick, uncomfortable silence forms between the two teenagers. N has never been more perplexed by a human. _If she thinks of Pokémon as partners and values their wishes as much as I do, then how can she say she has no opinion about the supposed inferiority of them?_ Meanwhile, the brunette pictures herself throwing the Ultra Ball in the pond, but then debates whether she would get more satisfaction out of throwing it at the green-haired boy beside her. _How can he call them his friends when he doesn't even see that they care about him?_

N is the first to break the silence. "If it makes you feel any better, those aren't my only Pokémon."

"Oh?" She turns to face him. "You enjoy breaking little hearts, don't you?"

His cheeks become red. "It's not like that. Can you not just listen to me?"

"I'm all ears."

"As I was saying, I only keep… _kept_ others as a better way to comprehend more Pokémon. After all, I can't help them achieve perfection with a narrow outlook."

"Well good for you, N," she scoffs, "at least know you know how the accents of Pidove from Route Three differ from the ones up in Route Seven." N tilts his head in confusion. She waves her hand and shakes her head, forgetting that sarcasm is a foreign language to him. "Forget it. Mind if I meet this other buddy of yours?"

N places his hand on the back of his neck and lowers his head, hiding his discomfort. "He doesn't exactly have a good history with humans…"

Kaminari's loudness suddenly returns, causing N to jump a bit in surprise. "Oh, come on! Everybody loves me!"

"Nari, people have hurt him." N looks her dead in the eyes and confesses, "I cannot guarantee he won't do the same to you. Especially not with your… _outgoing_ nature."

That devilish smirk overtakes the girl's face. "Where's all that 'trust your friends' stuff from earlier, huh?"

The boy stares down at the red sphere in his bag. "I suppose I cannot argue with my own philosophy."

"Nope. I'd hold it over you for a long time. Ask Cheren."

Hesitantly, N picks up the shiny sphere and presses the button. The white beam of energy takes the form of a large, colorful bird who greets N but rubbing his head against his shoulder. "Archeops, this is our friend, Nari." For once, he speaks slowly, and in a tone that is overly delicate even for him. The large bird stretches his long neck to tentatively sniff the girl, who wears a huge smile on her face.

"Woah!" she yells, sliding closer to the bird and abruptly grabbing his head. "Where can I get one?"

In response, the bird yanks his head away, shrieks, and holds his wing high in the air, his massive claws glinting in the moonlight. "Archeops, stop!" N commands. The large creature swings his wing down at Kaminari, who continues to stare him bravely in the eye. N turns to grab the ball, but when he turns back, he finds his friend standing with his claws just above the brim of Kaminari's pink hat, breathing heavily. Wordlessly, she reaches out and pats his thick feathers. N whispers, "How did you manage to halt his Dragon Claw?"

She doesn't take her eyes off of the beautiful bird as she laughs and says, "You know, you should really practice what you preach, N."

"I don't understand."

"You're really gonna make me say that cheesy line out loud? I've got a reputation to keep." N doesn't say a word, so Kaminari sighs and smirks. "I know that I can trust him, because I trust you. So I stayed calm, just like you said." She reaches up and lowers the bird's claws, which go down without protest. "Guess all of your philosophies aren't as hypocritical as I thought."

A genuine smile appears on his face. "Well, I'm glad I could teach you a lesson or two about Pokémon."

The girl crinkles her nose. "Just because I admitted you were right doesn't mean you have to get all cocky about it."

"Oh really?" N laughs, "I believe I am not the only 'hypocrite' in the vicinity."

"What?" Her eyes dart to her Poké Balls. "What else did Tsunami tell you?"

He nonchalantly replies, "He said he enjoyed your post- gym meal and fancy title."

She holds Tsunami's ball close to her mouth and yells, "We're not doing that again, are we?" N grins at the girl and strokes his Archeops' plumage, causing the Pokémon to faintly coo. "So, what's this guy's story? Not even my Patrat- think I'll call him Jerkface from now on- hated me enough to attack me on sight." She looks off in the direction of the Striaton Pokémon Center before adding, "Though it didn't exactly take him long to figure it out."

N's content expression morphs into an anguished one. "I found him in Castelia City as an Archen months ago. His trainer was no doubt an experienced one, but she was also incredibly cruel to him. She had been battling when she foolishly left him in while her opponent sent out a strong water-type. She was letting her opponent waste him away while she healed her other Pokémon, but he didn't last nearly as long as she had hoped." He closes his eyes and remembers every detail of the scene. "After the battle, she punished him for serving her by making her stronger partners hurt him."

Kaminari looks at the giant creature with newfound sympathy. "That's horrible. What'd you do, trade her an Arceus-foresaken Patrat with rabies?"

"No. I took him from her."

Kaminari raises an eyebrow at him. "You know that's illegal, right?"

"It may not be in compliance with your human code, but it's no less moral than hurting a defenseless creature." He catches her wordlessly judging him. "You said those people in the Dreamyard were kicking a Munna, correct? Then would it have changed your actions at all if that Pokémon was their partner?"

"Yeah. I would have pulverized them instead…" She glances at the boy, who seems slightly frightened, and adds, "…and then I would have reported them, of course. Heh."

"He's living a better, safer life with me, Nari. He's too vulnerable to be with anyone else." Sensing his trainer's pain, the Archeops tenderly rests his head on N's shoulder. "Pokémon are astounding creatures, aren't they?"

"Ugh. You sound like the Professor, N." The brunette grins and snickers, " _Professor N._ "

"Well, just look at Archeops. I am grieved by _his_ pain, yet he comforts me instead of pitying himself." N's face goes blank with realization as an epiphany strikes him like a lightning bolt. "Perhaps their loyalty to humans is what is keeping them from perfection."

Kaminari scoots up next to N and pulls an oran berry from her bag. "Why can't you just enjoy a good thing without overthinking it?" She holds an open palm out to Archeops, who cautiously nips the berry out of her hand and allows her to rub his green nose. "I'm sorry I scared you, buddy," she croons.

N analytically observes their interaction with intrigue. _Maybe not._


	9. Chapter Nine: After the Storm

Kaminari wakes in her tent to the sound of bickering Pidove squawking at each other outside. By her legs, Tsunami rests with his head resting on Zest, whose tail waves around cutely when he sleeps. The Ultra Ball sits in the opposite end of the tent, untouched since the night before. Just before they parted ways, N made Kaminari promise to give the Blitzle a chance and "perhaps even take her out of her ball." The girl smacks herself in the forehead. "Why do I keep making promises I know I can't keep?" She moans and wiggles out from her Cinccino-patterned sleeping bag before snatching the Ultra Ball from the ground. A surge of disappointment and nervousness swims through her veins. "Really? Nothing? I was expecting to at least be electrocuted." She laughs at her own sarcasm for a solid minute before hanging her head. "I'm talking to a ball. Great start to the day."

Next to her shriveled up sleeping bag, Zest rolls onto his side, letting Tsunami's round head bump on the rough earth. Wide awake now, the otter whips out his shell and proceeds to beat his teammate awake with the flat side of it. Kaminari grins and breaks up the fight with one hand while digging for her partner's Poké Balls with the other. "Alright, Tsunami, that's enough." The Oshawott turns away and crosses his stubby arms with a huff just before the white beam of energy zaps him into his ball.

As she kneels outside and hastily mushes her tent into a tight, disorganized ball, Kaminari hears a voice wailing her name from the beginning of Route Three. She rolls her eyes and stuffs the mess into her bag as a pair of green pumps skid through the dirt behind her. "What do you want, Bianca?"

That signature gasp that Bianca always does before extensive stories are to be told happens again. "It's horrible!" she shrieks. "This little girl from Striaton got her Roggenrola stolen from her- in broad daylight, too!"

Kaminari glances up at the sky and shields her eyes from the rising sun. "Doesn't look like it's been 'broad daylight' for too long."

"Okay," the blonde admits, "so maybe I stretched the truth just a bit. Don't act like you haven't done it, too. What about that time you took Cheren's wallet, hm?" She taps her chin in thought. "What was it that you told him… oh yeah. 'A Lampent snuck up behind you and tried to steal your soul, but he missed and just got your wallet instead.'"

Kaminari couldn't mask the sly smile that enveloped her face. "Hey, at least he believed it."

"'He believed it?'" Bianca cries, "He wouldn't come out of his house for a week, Nari!"

"Daw, your just mad because there wasn't anyone there to pay for your little Emolga dollies." Kaminari peers down the road. "Speaking of ol' Four-Eyes, why don't you ask him for help? I'm not exactly a morning person, you know."

Bianca throws her hands up in the air impatiently as her eyes grow wide. "I did ask Cheren! He's heading down to Wellspring Cave right now to teach those people a lesson, but…" She glances around nervously before whispering, "But I don't think he can handle them all on his own. And… and… we both know I'm not the strongest trainer, Nari…" Her gaze falls sadly to the ground before flicking hopefully back up to her friend.

The brunette, who took a few moments toying with the idea of Bianca's knight-in-shining-skinny-jeans going off to save the day for her, snaps back to reality at the sudden soundlessness in the area. Bianca, tapping her foot, hurriedly asks, "Well?"

"Hold up a second. Who are 'those people' that took the Pokémon?"

"Oh," she giggles, "did I forget to say? I guess I just talk so fast and I get ahead of myself and-"

"Spill it, Bianca."

"Sorry. It's those Team Plasma people. You know, that team from the Dream..yard…" The girl trails off, remembering what the Musharna had shown Kaminari about her dream from the night before. She attempts to apologize for it, but her quiet voice is no match for the sound of her friend's boots furiously ripping down the dusty road. She should have known that the mention of those Pokémon abusers would trigger her rage.

Not much later, the short-tempered teen encounters a Team Plasma grunt guarding the mouth of the cave. "Halt! Team Plasma is taking care of business within this cavern," she declares, "so you must turn around before you, too, fall under the category of 'business.'"

Kaminari crosses her arms. "Look, I didn't catch like half of what you said because I was thinking of ways I can wreck you, but I need to get in there."

In response, the guard laughs and says, "I highly doubt your team can even compete with my six Patrat."

 _Wonder how many bite marks she has under that stupid outfit, then._ Kaminari stretches her legs like she's about to run a marathon. "Actually, I just put my Poké Balls in my bag," she hisses, "but I don't really need Pokémon to win a fight. That's what my parole officer said, anyway."

The woman looks Kaminari up and down, taking note of her completely serious eyes. She then laughs stiffly and steps aside without a word.

Confidently, Kaminari stomps through the entrance of the cave, light pouring in from behind her. She finds Cheren flicking his thumb with his index finger; something he always does when he's agitated. In front of him stands a pair of Team Plasma grunts, and behind them is a quivering Roggenrola. Cheren greets her by snorting, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Dang, Cheren, what's with all this hostility?" Kaminari sneers, "Did your room service come a whole minute after they said they would?" The grunts start to shout something at her, but the teen dismissively waves her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with you two in a second. Don't be in a such a rush to get your butts kicked, ya fruitcakes." She turns back to Cheren as the grunts grumble something about non-followers. "Bianca said you could use my help."

"I can handle this."

"Bianca doesn't seem to think so."

Cheren's cheeks turn bright red. "You're only going to make this worse, okay?"

Kaminari snickers at his embarrassment. "You're just mad that Bianca thinks I'm the better battler."

"She does not." He raises his chin indignantly. "She's just looking out for me. You know, that thing nice people do?"

"Yeah, mhm. Do you want my help or not?"

Cheren sighs and looks back at the Plasma grunts. "I suppose I'm the only one in the place that listens to reason."

"This Pokémon was being misused and held back by its trainer," one grunt snaps, "and now that it has been liberated by Team Plasma, it can reach perfection."

"Yeah, well, I hate to tell you this," the brunette says, "but he's about to be liberated again by Kaminari and Cheren."

The redheaded grunts whip out their shiny red spheres. "Team Plasma will free all Pokémon, no matter who stands in our way!"

"I suppose that means we're battling," Cheren sighs and pushes his glasses up his nose before snatching his Purrloin's ball from his pocket. "How narcissistic must you be to think you can steal another's partner _and_ speak in third person?" He tosses the ball out while his friend unleashes Zest.

The Team Plasma grunts throw out a couple of Patrat, causing Kaminari to moan. "Why do you all have these stupid little rats?"

" _You're_ one to talk," Cheren reminds her.

"Cheren, I just lied about having been arrested for assault. But if you keep on sassing me, it might not qualify as a lie anymore."

The boy shakes his head. "Always a barbarian."

Despite one of their partners being fireless, the two friends easily pummel the normal-types. "Not bad, Four-eyes. Maybe you did learn something in that school."

"Don't think this battle has been won." Two more grunts emerge from the shadows of the cave as the beaten ones step aside without question. "You'll soon learn the true power of Team Plasma."

"How irritating. You are quite righteous for Pokémon thieves." Cheren turns to the girl beside him. "Nari, you are what these city folk might refer to as a 'meat-headed loudmouth-'"

"Thanks, Cheren."

"-but we have been friends for all our lives, and we have each other's backs when it counts. Let's show these fools how it's done."

"Nicely said, Cheren," Kaminari replies as their opponents send out two bats, "I didn't know you had a drop of emotion in that stone-cold heart of yours. You're really a big softy."

The boy pinches the bridge of his nose. "This is why I don't say nice things to you often. Purrloin, use Growl!"

"Wait, what are these things?" Kaminari yanks out her Pokédex and scans her strange, blue opponents. "Woobat? Gross. Go for Lick, Zest."

"Not so fast. Our Woobat have far more speed." Both grunts command their partners to use Gust. Immediately, the round bats beat their frail wings, whipping up a miniature storm that buffers their opponents around the cave.

"Alright," Cheren smugly proclaims, "our turn."

Purrloin wags his tail cutely and meows with a hint of sassiness while Zest leaps into the air and Licks a Woobat. The Pansear finds himself more disgusted than his paralyzed enemy, as he walks away wiping clumps of blue fur from his tongue. "Pan…"

"Heh," Kaminari giggles, "nice job, buddy."

"You have the audacity to call a higher being 'buddy'?" The left grunt huffs disapprovingly.

"I just can't believe you have the audacity to talk to me, gasbag. Zest, use Fury Swipes!"

"Purrloin, you too!"

The fire-type jumps in the air again right as the Team Plasma grunts give their orders. Right before he strikes, his target uses Assurance, smacking him hard with his wing. Despite the hit, Zest easily fights through and swipes at the bat three times before skipping giddily back to his trainer. Purrloin, following his lead, leaps up and claws his opponent four times before walking back with sassy eyes, proud at achieving more hits than the monkey. However, on his walk back to Cheren, the Woobat sends another Gust his way. The cat attempts to steady himself by digging his claws into the earth, but is still sent flying. "Loin," he snarls.

"Woah, that Assurance didn't do much at all…" Kaminari says, hoping she won't get a taste of the Cheren superiority complex for his partner's higher number of hits. "You guys must be wimpier than I thought."

"Actually," Cheren corrects her in a very matter-of-fact-tone, "I suspect these Pokémon have the Simple ability, meaning the Growl lowered their attack by twice as much."

"That is correct," admits a grunt, "for Team Plasma has taken these Pokémon one step closer to perfection by granting them their hidden ability through genetic enhancement." The grunt raises an eyebrow at Cheren while Kaminari tries to comprehend what both of them have just said with a blank stare. "But how did you figure that out so easily?"

"It wasn't all that difficult." Cheren grins deviously. "Both of them just looked as Simple-minded as their trainers."

As soon as she figures out his statement, Kaminari bursts out of her minor trance and points a finger at the redheads. "Ooooooh," she yells, "You just got burned by a nerd!"

"I suppose we've inflicted _two_ status conditions on them now," declares Cheren in a snarky tone, causing Kaminari to almost fall over laughing at her red-faced opponents.

"Enough!" the left grunt screams, "Woobat, use Assurance and Gust once more!" Oddly, the right grunt stays silent as his partner gives orders to his Pokémon.

"Zest, use Fury Swipes on the paralyzed one."

Cheren turns to her. "Are you sure about that?"

"Don't complain, Four-eyes. I called 'em first."

The boy sighs uneasily. "Okay. Purrloin, attack the other Woobat, then."

As one bat uses Gust on the poor Purrloin, Zest, who is hesitant after Cheren's warning, slashes the paralyzed Woobat twice on his big nose. The cat, who looks extra fluffy after all the "blow drying," shakes his purple coat and scratches other bat twice. Finally, the paralyzed Woobat flaps over to the Pansear and smacks him with his wing, infinitely harder than before. Zest cries in pain and faints.

"What?" shouts Kaminari, done laughing now. She grabs Cheren by his jacket collar and shakes him violently. "I thought you said you halved his attack!"

The boy, now used to Kaminari handling him gruffly, nonchalantly states, "This is what I was trying to warn you about, fool. Assurance does twice as much is the user has already been hit."

She points a finger at her fainted fire-type, keeping one hand on his blue jacket. "He's passed out!"

Cheren shrugs. "Perhaps the hit was critical."

Kaminari releases the black-haired boy and moans, "Sorry, Zest. My fault." She returns him to his ball before unleashing her excited Oshawott. "You're going to get it now, pal. Go for Water Gun…" she glances at Cheren, "… _not_ on the paralyzed one."

"Ah, so you're not as stupid as I thought," remarks the left grunt. "It'll take you more than an IQ of 100 to win this battle, though." Cheren grabs his friend by the black vest before she can race across the battle and plant her fist in the man's face. The grunt snorts at her rage and commands, "Gust and Heart Stamp." The right grunt raises a finger in protest, yet quickly lowers it.

The boy, still struggling to restrain his aggressive friend, yells, "Purrloin! Assist!"

"I swear to Arceus if he gets Vine Whip again…"

Just as Tsunami prepares to shoot his opponent out of the air with a blast of water, the left bat swoops down at him and bumps him with his heart-pattered nose. "Woo! B-Bat!" Tsunami flinches and finds himself unable to move because of it.

Kaminari slaps her forehead. "You've got to be kidding me."

"At least he's not the only one who can't move." Cheren points at the second Woobat, who is also rendered immobile. "It's about time your strategy came in handy, to be honest."

The brunette sourly responds, "Shut up."

The Purrloin, eager to destroy his opponent with one of Snivy's strong moves, is incredibly disappointed when the blue beam from the other ball gives him Growth. He looks back at his trainer as his body suddenly becomes a bit larger. "Loin?"

"Great job," Kaminari groans, "now he can hit the wall a little harder when he catches a Gust."

"Will you please focus on the battle?" he asks, disappointed.

"I've been focusing on the battle… mildly." She winks at the black-haired boy. "If you ask me, that paralyzed one has been in for way too long."

"I agree." His glasses glint as he commands, "Fury Swipes on the right Woobat, Purrloin!"

"Water Gun on the same one, Tsunami!"

"I don't think so," sneers the left grunt. "Assurance and Confusion. Now!"

Grinning like the Simple-minded Woobat he is, the opposing Pokémon on the left emits pink circles from his head and extends them towards Tsunami, who takes a hit and stumbles around in confusion. "Wott?"

Kaminari closes her eyes. "This cannot be happening."

Cheren's partner, glancing worriedly at Tsunami, leaps up and claws the paralyzed opponent twice, leaving with just enough health to continue battling. All eyes go to the Oshawott, who struggles to find his target. Wobbling around, he tries to remember what order he was given. Instead of using Water Gun, though, he removes his scallop and beats himself in the head with it.

"How is that remotely similar to what I said?" Kaminari screams, causing Tsunami to stare back at the five versions that he sees of her shamefully.

"Well, according to Bianca, you basically asked him to hurt himself with the move Water Gun last night."

"Cheren, I'm about to hurt you with something much worse than water."

The Woobat on the right, to Cheren's dismay, fight's through paralysis and brutally strikes his partner with a boosted Assurance. Purrloin hisses something at his Oshawott teammate before falling over, defeated.

"How'd that critical hit feel, Cheren?"

"Nari, we've lost two Pokémon to a pair of blind bats. I don't think this is a time for joking."

"You forgot to mention the part where my starter is being completely wrecked and all you have left is a grass-type."

"Well, I have a Panpour, too. Some child in the Dreamyard gave her to me."

"Really?" Kaminari laughs a bit. "She gave me Zest. Dang, that kid must've been lucky to find-"

"Quit stalling!" snaps the right grunt, to his fellow Team Plasma member's surprise. "W-We're going to win the battle no matter what, so you might as well lose quickly and stop wasting our precious time."

"…Hey, Cheren, guess what?"

"What?"

"I just realized that the initials for Team Plasma are the same initials for toilet paper."

The right grunt shrieks, "SHUT YOUR BRATTY MOUTH AND FIGHT!"

Cheren smirks and tosses out Panpour. "Alright, time to shine, Panpour." She nods self-assuredly at him. "Lick the right Woobat." With a smile most joyous, the blue monkey jumps in the air with an open mouth.

"Quickly," the left grunt yells, "use Confusion!"

Mid-jump, the Panpour is struck with those awful psychic rings, making her confused as well. Just like Tsunami, she hits herself.

"I believe they have a word for this kind of luck." Cheren cleans his glasses on the hem of his shirt, attempting to hide his anger. "I read in a book once that it is referred to as 'hax'."

"Tsunami, attack the paralyzed Woobat!" Kaminari shouts furiously. "And don't you dare hit yourself this time!"

Under immense pressure and ashamed to have let his trainer down, Tsunami wildly shakes his head and unleashes a stream of water on the Woobat. "O-sha-wooooooott!" The bat finally drops to the ground, defeated. Tsunami waddles back to his trainer gleefully. "Shaa!"

"It's about time…" Cheren mutters.

Ignoring her friend's sly comment, Kaminari smiles and cheers, "Awesome, Tsunami!"

The left grunt, watching his teammate return his fallen Pokémon to his ball with disapproval, shouts, "Don't rejoice yet! Use Heart Stamp on the Panpour!"

The bat plainly swoops down on the Panpour and slams into her with his nose. She is knocked back, but unflinching. Both teenagers let relieved smiles take over their faces. "Would you like to finish this?" Kaminari asks.

Cheren grabs his glasses by the rim and properly settles them on his face. "Gladly. Use Leer." Both his partner and his friend stare at him with wide eyes. "I'm simply joking, calm down. Fury Swipes."

Happy to oblige, the Panpour fights through her confusion and leaps up with a raised paw before attacking with a flurry of claws. As she struts away, the bat falls to the earth behind her. While the last grunt returns his fainted Pokémon to his ball, Kaminari casually walks up to her opponents and says, "Alright, I want two-thousand Pokémon dollars."

Cheren returns Panpour to her ball, adding, "And the Roggenrola."

"Yeah, that too."

The right grunt reluctantly slaps the money in the girl's hand while his partner hands the startled little rock-type over to the boy, righteously yelling, "Understand this; for every Pokémon you claim to save, Team Plasma shall liberate a hundred more!" Before Kaminari can retort with a wisecrack, they throw out some kind of thick smoke and disappear into the shadows.

"Wow," she coughs, "they're faster than their own Woobat. Y'know, when they're retreating." The brunette turns to face Cheren, who has his eyes narrowed at her. "What?"

"I want at least half of the money," he declares. "In fact, I deserve more than half, since I was here longer than you _and_ my partner's put in more effort than yours."

Tsunami growls in an unintentionally adorable way and slashes his scallop at Cheren. "Oshaaa…"

"Tsunami's right," Kaminari agrees. "Besides, I asked for the cash and you asked for the Roggenrola. We both got what we wanted."

Her friend sends her a stern look. "Kaminari."

The teen rolls her eyes and folds half of the dollars out of her small stack. "Fine. Just for the love of Arceus don't start counting to three, Mom." After taking the money, Cheren hoists the heavy Pokémon up into his arms and soothes it by stroking its smooth outer layer. "Aww, you really are motherly material."

Cheren ignores her and places the rock back in his ball once the yellow pebble on top of his head quits wavering. "I'm going to take him back to his trainer. Go tell Bianca he's alright. I know she's worried…"

"What, are you jealous that she's more worried about that rock than she is about you?"

Cheren charges out of the cave without a word. Kaminari puts Tsunami on her shoulder and stares down at the Ultra Ball in her bag, thinking how much quicker she could have ended that battle if she wasn't so fearful. She forcefully shakes the thought out of her head and scratches her partner's chin. "At least you got some experience, right, buddy?" Tsunami stares back at her in delightful confusion, wondering why his trainer sounds so unconvinced, but not quite caring enough to interrupt her display of affection.

The brunette finds her flighty friend pacing the area where her slanted tent stood not an hour ago, looking as though her parent is in the middle of an operation; her quivering hands are clasped over her mouth and her eyes possess a nervous crinkle. She sits on a log only to jump to her feet a moment later when she sees Kaminari sauntering down the road. "Did everything go alright? I've been worried sick!"

"Everything was fine," Kaminari says in an unusually aggravated tone, "Cheren took the Pokémon back to Striaton." The girl doesn't even meet Bianca's genuine gaze.

"Nari…" The blonde's green eyes dart around the route as she tries to find the right words to say. _How am I supposed to justify showing her something like that?_ Without thinking, she takes Kaminari by surprise by entangling her in her loving arms, repeatedly apologizing.

The brunette teen closes her eyes, recalling the day following that horrible incident Bianca showed her. Her door was locked, and she was curled up on her bed with her head in her hands. The soft sound of Kaminari's mother knocking and pleading crept into her mind, followed by the hopeless sobs. With tears rolling across her nose and onto her pink sheets, she pondered her situation, but came up without a thought to think. That was when she first stood on the beach of the sea of madness.

The sound of waves washing over sand had drowned out her mother's sad words, but it wasn't like the gentle waves that lined the shore of Nuvema Town; those waves were comforting and constant, never straying from their pleasant pattern. The waters of this foreign sea were wild and unpredictable, with a tide that could rise enough to engulf her at any second. The sea fed on the thunderous sound that echoed in her head, gradually nearing her toes until a little voice disrupted its ascension. Reluctantly sweeping her silky curtains aside, the young girl saw her two best friends standing on the grass outside, calling her name.

Bianca still had those same bright green eyes as she loudly announced her sorrow into Kaminari's shirt, passionate about her friend's forgiveness. It was at this moment that the brunette thought of Archeops comforting N the night before. This was a pain the girls and even Cheren shared through friendship, and so they each had to be strong for the others' sake.

Easing her muscles, Kaminari releases all of her frustration with a calm exhale and returns the embrace, rubbing Bianca's back as her tears dampen the black vest.


End file.
